The Longest Trip Ever
by Serenity-hime
Summary: A UM fic. Usagi gets a wonderful opportunity to go to America, but lo and behold, Mamoru winds up going too. Will they survive the trip? Will they kill each other first? A first season fic, rated T because I never know how these things turn out. R
1. The Plane, Part 1

A/N: Hello again everyone! I've kind of put my story The Heart of Crystal Tokyo on the backburner for right now; I've got a bit of writer's block. I could put out another short installment but I think it just wouldn't be going anywhere. If anyone has any ideas, please feel free to email me. I could use the help.

Also, here's a new story! I was brainstorming at work, and after reading Sword-chan's "Subject to Change" (which is excellent and you should go read it plugplugplug) I decided to write something with maybe a little bit of comedy. In any case, please review and let me know what you think. If everyone likes it, I'll write another part to the plane flight, and a chapter for each day on the trip. Thanks a lot everyone!

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**Disclaimer:** If I owned Sailor Moon, I'd put it on the stock market at 2 cents a share so everyone could own a little piece of it.

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**Chapter 1: The Plane, part 1**

Usagi stood in front of her mirror, carefully smoothing out the pleated skirt of her summer uniform. A smile drew itself tentatively across her face, which then promptly broke into a grin. No longer able to hold her composure, she twirled around, giggling as her skirt pooled out around her. Luna rolled her eyes from the comfort of Usagi's bed.

"You know, you really shouldn't go. What if youmas just swarm Tokyo and there's nobody here to save all the people?" Usagi turned around and stuck her tongue out at the cat. Luna promptly sighed and tried to look aggravated, which almost worked for her.

"Relax, Luna. There hasn't been any activity in weeks. Besides, there's police and stuff. And when am I ever going to get another opportunity like this? You're the one who's always saying I need to 'enrich myself'. Can't you be happy for me for once?" She grinned and twirled around again, admiring herself in the stand-up mirror, and Luna sighed again.

"I guess you might be right this time, Usagi-chan. I just wish that _all_ of you weren't going. It's so…unnerving." Usagi smiled at her fondly.

"Don't worry too much. We'll all come back in one piece." She blinked. "Er, more like five pieces, I guess. It'd be pretty weird if we came back all smooshed together." Luna rolled her eyes again. She was getting too good at that. "Anyways, I'm just glad that everyone gets to come. This 'Taste of Culture' program is great." Luna shrugged.

"I guess it's good that they're trying to do things like this, and that they're including lots of schools." She paused for a moment, and then narrowed her eyes at Usagi. "Wait a minute, how on Earth _did_ you manage to weasel your way into the program anyways? I thought it was for the academically and artistically gifted, neither of which you can claim."

"O ye of little faith, have ye not any hope for my abilities?" Her attempt at nobility was failing. Badly. Even Luna looked skeptical, which one would this would be difficult for a cat. "Ok fine, I just get to go because Mrs. Haruna is on the committee's board. I think I'm one of her favorite students!" She beamed.

"Or she's sick of seeing you in detention every day," Luna muttered.

"What was that?"

"Oh nothing."

Smiling up toward the moon, Usagi knew that even Luna couldn't get her down tonight, because tomorrow she'd be on a plane with her best friends, and headed toward a week-long trip in America.

* * *

The babble of the airport was a welcome sound to Usagi's ears. Her heart was pounding with anticipation. She had never left Japan before, and it was even with her best friends. She grinned and waved to Minako, who was standing with her classmates. She waved back, her enthusiasm evident as she managed to accidentally clobber one of her fellow classmates with a stray elbow. Usagi burst out laughing as her poor friend bowed and apologized to the unfortunate guy. Mina probably didn't even realize how gaga the guy was over her anyways.

A sudden tug on her sleeve brought her back to reality. Ami was urging her toward the plane entrance as the last few of their classmates disappeared for boarding. She shrieked , bolted towards the boarding counter, screeched to a halt, raced back towards a stunned Ami, picked up her bag, ran back toward the counter, somehow managed to throw the necessary documents to the lady at the counter _and_ get them back, and raced into the boarding tunnel.

Ami just shook her head and walked toward the counter. It was amazing that girl hadn't gone out for the Olympics yet.

Usagi sat in her seat, huffing and puffing. Not only had she had to sit in the last row reserved for her class, but she'd had to fight to get her carry-on bag into the overhead compartment _and_ dodge the bags that were already stuffed in there as they tried to split her open. Ami smiled at her as she scooted by and slid into the window seat.

"Thanks for taking the window seat Ami-chan. I would get so sick looking out that window. She puffed out her cheeks and crossed her eyes, and Ami laughed.

"Why didn't you just sit in the aisle seat?"

"Well, since this is the last row for out school, another school's seats apparently start with that one. At least, that's what the stewardess said when she kicked me out of that seat." Ami smiled, not bothering to correct her about the stewardess thing.

"Who knows, maybe Lita's or Mina's school will be sitting behind us and one of them will get to sit with us." Usagi grinned happily. Ami returned a wicked grin, which was rather unsettling coming from her. "Or maybe Rei will get to sit next to you, for the whole flight." Usagi's face paled, and Ami burst into giggles.

"That's not funny! A sixteen hour flight next to her would be torture. She's always so mean to me."

"I'm sorry Usagi-chan, but your face as priceless. You looked like a ghost!"

"It still wasn't funny!"

"I'm sorry, I just couldn't resist. This trip will be so great! Besides, it'll probably just be a stranger who sits there." Ami stopped, her mouth half-open. Usagi was about to ask what was wrong when she heard a man's voice come from behind her.

"Pardon me ladies, but is this seat…Odango?"

The world turned a foreboding shade of gray, and Usagi felt her heart fall into the deepest bowels of her stomach. All laughter and merriment faded, only to be replaced with cold dread. The very air seemed to still around her. Her heart stopped. Her eyes grew wide. Her lungs seized up. The seatbelt light came on.

(Insert melodramatic phrase here.)

"Why, I didn't know they let mental patients ride airplanes." With an audible groan, Usagi slowly turned her head, just in time to see a very attractive young man with raven hair taking the seat next to her. She squealed and leapt back as far as she could, squishing Ami against the wall.

"You can't sit there! That seat is reserved for someone!" Mamoru quirked an eyebrow at her.

"Oh? And who would that be, your trainer?" He grinned and Usagi's eyes flashed.

"You're the one to talk, monkey-brains!"

"Ooh, good one Odango. I almost got a chill from that one." Ami was making small noises of protest from underneath Usagi. Usagi raised her hand and opened her mouth to reply when a voice came over the intercom.

"Uhhhh…folks, this is uhhh….your captain speaking…we're about to take off….uhhh…please keep your seatbelts fastened…and uhhh….enjoy your flight." (A/N: Don't you hate it when pilots do that? It bugs the crap out of me.) As the flight attendants began the flight safety tango in the front and middle of the plane, another came up to where Usagi, Mamoru, and a bluer-than-usual Ami were.

"Excuse me miss," she said in that disgustingly polite and unflappable tone to Usagi, "please sit in your seat and buckle your seatbelt before we take off."

"Wait, you have to re-seat this guy!" As the attendant walked away, Usagi practically climbed over Mamoru to get to her. Ami, now that she could, breathed a sigh of relief. However Mamoru seemed quite dismayed at the blonde that was now more than half in his lap and pressing herself against him. The attendant turned briefly before walking to the back of the plane.

"Please have a seat miss, as we will be taking off shortly."

"Please! You don't understand! He…he's rabid!" But her cries fell on deaf ears. She had a sudden revelation which made her eyes grow wide and her heart leap up into her throat. She looked down into the deep blue eyes of the man beneath her. Her lip quivered, and for a moment the two of them looked almost like lovers about to share the most tender of kisses. Then an ear-shattering shriek echoed throughout the cabin, as did a resounding thump as she managed to jump from his lap to her seat without using her feet _or_ her hands.

"Gee Odango, I didn't know you felt that way." Mamoru sounded a little shaken, but Usagi didn't really notice as she herself was a little busy shaking. She tried to breathe slowly, but her heart wouldn't calm down.

Had she really just been in his lap? She couldn't believe it. Though she had always felt some attraction to him, he'd always picked on her and been mean to her all the time. She never thought she'd end up…well, sitting on top of him. And those beautiful eyes had been filled with…something, as she looked down at him. _Wait a minute, beautiful eyes? Where on Earth is this going? This guy is a total creep, I have to sit next to him for sixteen hours, and I'm already going stir-crazy. The close confinement is affecting my brain. If I don't get off this plane soon, I might have to commit murder. How long was that flight again?

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A/N: Also, if anyone has a better title suggestion, please tell me. I drew a blank on this one. 


	2. The Plane, Part 2

Warning: long A/Ns ahead before longer story.

A/N part 1: Oh wow. I just want to say thanks, to everyone who has reviewed this story…or well any of my stuff I guess. When I posted the first chapter of this fic I was really uncertain because I've never ever written comedy in any way, and I didn't know how people would respond. Plus, I sometimes get down when I don't get a lot of reviews, and I didn't know how well this would go over. Within the first day, I had about 15 reviews sitting in my inbox, and I almost cried. It truly makes me feel like my writing is worth something, and to come to terms with that in such a big way when I've been writing since I was able to make words on paper…it just meant a lot. Thanks to everyone so much for being so wonderful to me. All your beautiful and happy reviews make me want to cry a lot. Thanks for all the support!

A/N part 2: I'm sorry it's taken me so long to get this out…first I had finals, then moving, then I had a good friend come to visit for about a week (and I don't think it helps that my fiancée got me addicted to EverCrack II….I mean EverQuest…right…EverQuest II). More chapters will be forthcoming, though I've been playing around with a different, much darker UM fic. In any case, thanks for sticking with me so long, and please enjoy!

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**Disclaimer:** I don't own Sailor Moon, nor do I necessarily own all of these words in the manner they were placed, because I'm sure someone else at some point used similar words in stories, poems, **SONG LYRICS** (cough), or something of the like, so I guess everything written is just copyright infringement anyways. At least we still have art though, right? Just don't paint any apples. Or people.

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**Chapter 2: The Plane, part 2**

Takeoff wasn't exactly great. Usagi, who had no love of flying, was already shaking _before_the plane took off. Ami had given her peppermints to help calm her stomach, but she still felt rather queasy. She was just very relieved that Ami had sat by the window, even though that meant she had to sit next to Creepazoid. She was still trying to decide which made her more nauseous – the plane or him, when they hit some more turbulence. She thought she could stand sitting where she was. The window was not an option.

After all, Mamoru didn't seem so bad. Well, when he kept his mouth shut, that was. He was just so darn…mean. He teased her every chance he got, and then found more opportunities. She had tried being nice, and sometimes it seemed she almost got through to him, but then he shifted back into Jerk2000 mode and shot off some awful remark and she felt terrible all over again. Why he had chosen to sit next to her, she'd probably never know.

But then, there was that look, deep in his eyes when he had seemed so surprised…caught off guard even…like he had forgotten to hide something…

No, that was wishful thinking.

_Wishful thinking_? That was crazy talk! Was she taking some kind of drugs or something?

Usagi had been battling with herself for a couple weeks now, struggling to push away the growing attraction she was feeling for a guy she detested. Half the time she wanted to strangle him, but the other half…well that was different. She fought to deny those feelings, because she knew it would never happen, and was sure she didn't want it to. Pretty sure. Mostly. Maybe she had suffered head trauma she couldn't remember?

Anyways, there she was, sitting next to him for a _long_time, unsure of what to do. As they began to level off, she could still feel her cheeks warm with a blush that had to be evident. Ami wasn't any help – her nose was long buried in some textbook on quantum politics or something. Clearing her throat, she turned to where Mamoru was pulling out a newspaper.

"Um, I'm…I'm sorry about earlier. I didn't mean to, uh, jump in your lap like that." She blushed even more, finding it impossible to even look at him. If only, just this once, he could be nice about something–

"It's ok, Odango Atama. I know your primal instincts took over." Her stomach turned. Her hands clenched. She wished she had a frying pan. Those never seemed to miss. "Besides, I think you kind of liked it." Usagi's eyes grew wide as saucers and her mouth dropped open.

A few minutes later as the seatbelt sign was turned off, one of the computer teachers walked back to have a quick chat with Ami, only to find her restraining a young blonde who seemed to be trying to choke a young man sitting next to her, or maybe scratch his eyes out. Either way, it probably wasn't healthy to let it continue.

"Ahem."

Usagi looked up to see one of the teachers standing over her. She released her vice-like grip on Mamoru's shirt and tried to smile nicely.

"Good afternoon, Ma'am."

"Miss Tsukino-san, is it?" Usagi was blushing again, but she nodded. "Please try not to strangle the other passengers. I don't believe it would be prudent to arrive in America with one less student than we started with, yes?" Usagi had sunk pretty low in her seat by now. Blessedly, those eyes turned themselves toward Ami as Usagi nodded meekly. "Miss Mizuno-san, I was wondering if you would mind sitting with me awhile so we might speak about your research project on grid computing?" Ami's eyes gleamed with the same light that she got whenever it was time to get new textbooks for the year. It was kind of frightening sometimes.

"Of course Takimoto-sensei! I'd be delighted to speak with you about that. Let me gather my things and I'll join you shortly." The teacher nodded, and Ami eagerly began to pick up her belongings. A horrorstruck Usagi looked toward her traitorous friend.

"You can't leave me here with him!" She hissed fiercely. Amy made a shooing gesture at her as she picked up her bag.

"Oh you'll be fine. Just no more murder attempts, ok?" She slid past the astounded blonde. "And hey, maybe the two of you will finally learn to get along, right Mamoru-san?"

"Oh yeah, like felines and dogs who were obviously dropped on their heads when they were young. A lot."

"Oh Mamoru-kun, you really shouldn't pick on yourself that way!" Usagi's voice dripped with sarcasm. Ami was long gone. Now what?

She eyed the empty seat, and sighed. Maybe if she closed the blind she'd be ok? She looked back at Mamoru, who was watching her closely, which nearly made her jump out of her skin.

"What are you looking at, Creepazoid?"

"I was just wondering if you were going to move. I'd have thought you would have bolted into that seat _before _your friend got up."

"For your information monkey-brains, I'm terrified of heights. Even sitting in that seat would give me the willies.

"Oh." Mamoru looked thoughtful for a moment, and then began to pick up his things. Usagi blinked. As she opened her mouth to ask what he was doing, he got up and shuffled past her, sitting gracefully in the window-seat. He motioned for her to scoot down. "You can have my seat." She blinked again.

"Why?"

"I like the window seat better anyways. Just take the seat and don't worry about it." She slowly reached for her belongings and scooted them over a seat, wondering at this sudden change in temperament. Was he being nice? _No, he probably just didn't want to sit by you. Being nice is probably just a side effect of his jerk-ness for once. Miracles _do_ happen._

She didn't have much more time to think about it as a flight attendant appeared at her shoulder with a cart, again making her jump about a foot straight up from her seat. How did they _do _that?

"Ma'am we are serving drinks and snacks now. You have your choice of Coke products, water, apple juice, orange juice, or coffee. What would you care for?" Usagi thought for a minute.

"I'll take a coke please, no ice. Ice hurts my teeth." The attendant smiled and began filling up a cup with a can of Coke. She nodded to Mamoru.

"And for you, sir?"

"I'll have coffee. One packet of half and half please." The attendant nodded again and handed Usagi her drink. She smiled and took a tentative sip from her drink. It was cold, but not too bad. For some reason, her teeth would sometimes be very sensitive to cold things. The attendant held out Mamoru's coffee for her to pass over. Usagi slid her cup into the crook of her arm and held it against herself as she reached out for the steaming cup. That was not the best of ideas.

As she reached for the coffee, her drink began to slip a little. As her hand fastened around the Styrofoam, her drink slid completely out of her arm, spilling down her shirt and onto her lap, which made her jump. And, of course, the coffee slipped out of her hand in her surprise, and did much the same as the Coke had done. Scalding coffee splashed onto her stomach and thighs, and saturated the seat she had jumped out of. She cried out as her skin burned and stung, and shoved past the astonished attendant. Luckily there wasn't anyone in the bathroom.

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Usagi sniffled as she very carefully dabbed at her stomach and legs with a cold, wet towel. Her skin was red, but thankfully the coffee hadn't been much hotter. She was hoping she wouldn't blister, but she thought she would be ok. The skin was tender, but it wasn't excruciating.

An attendant had knocked earlier to make sure she was alright, and had even offered to bring her carry-on bag if it had extra clothes in it. Usagi had gratefully accepted, and the attendant had passed in the bag to her. Now her clothes were bundled up in a bag, ready to be cleaned as soon as they could locate a cleaner's. She pulled on a pair of blue overalls and a long-sleeved white shirt. She gathered up her things and trudged back to her seat.

The flight attendant immediately stuck to her, offering to help her with her bags or get her a new soda or anything at all. Usagi tried to brush her off but she kept hovering around her like some sort of bird, or maybe a bug. She was like a chipper little mosquito that buzzed and buzzed and wouldn't go away until you shed blood. Or swatted her.

As Usagi was trying to put her bag away and the attendant was trying futilely to help, she found herself quickly losing patience. She turned and smiled at her.

"Look, I really appreciate the help, but I'm fine. Really." The attendant smiled back.

"Can I get you a pillow and a blanket? You look rather tired."

"I am tired, but I'll be fine, thank you."

"How about a snack then? You must be hungry by now." Usagi was trying not to twitch.

"Ma'am, I appreciate you being so helpful but I'll be just fine."

"A nice, relaxing cup of tea then?" Exasperation didn't cover it. Usagi summoned the politest smile and tine of voice that she possibly could.

"I really do appreciate your kindness Ma'am, but you don't have anything to worry about. I'm perfectly fine, I'm not seriously injured, and neither I, my family, nor the school is going to sue you or this airline."

The attendant seemed to falter for a moment, slipping up for a moment as surprise overcame her "can-do" attitude and her smile seemed like it was about to crack in half right off her face. A second later it all reappeared, and her voice was even more sickeningly happy.

"If you need anything, just let me know!" As chipper as ever, she turned and walked away to find an elderly lady who could be badgered into accepting a pillow and a blanket. Usagi just shook her head. She looked back to the row of seats before her; one coffee-stained, one empty, and one filled with a Mamoru who was giving her a rather odd look. She gingerly felt the aisle seat with her fingertips. To her dismay it was still quite damp, despite Mrs. Happy's efforts. With a sigh, she plopped down into the seat next to Mamoru, who was still looking at her.

"Diplomatic as ever." She looked over at Mamoru. "Are you ok?" She raised an eyebrow. Was he genuinely concerned?

"Um, yeah. It stings a little, but I'll be fine." He smiled at her.

"Good. That's one of the things I like about you, Odango. You're always dependable." He picked up his newspaper and began reading it as she pondered whether or not that was an insult. She decided it was, since he had called her that _stupid _nickname. She gritted her teeth. It was a perfectly acceptable hairstyle. Some people had Mohawks for Pete's sake!

"You're such a jerk, you know that?" She couldn't see his face behind the paper, and she was infuriated. "You have no right to call me that and no right to treat me that way after I've hurt myself, which was your fault in the first place." The overly-helpful attendant materialized behind her, as if on cue.

"The in-flight movie will start shortly. Would you like a complimentary set of headphones, Miss?"

"Yes I would, thank you." She snatched the headphones out of her hand, plugged them into the armrest, and jammed them down over her ears. She ignored the somewhat surprised Mamoru next to her. She kept staring straight ahead until her shook his head and turned back to his paper.

When the little screens came down and began to play previews, she focused her attention on that. It was a rather silly American movie about some animated fat green…thing. She quickly began to lose interest, and her eyelids began to droop before long. She closed her eyes, leaned back, and drifted into a blissful slumber. Blissful until she woke up, that was.

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Mamoru shook his head behind the protective cover of his newspaper. Sometimes he really didn't get that girl. Or maybe it was just females in general that he couldn't understand. If experience had taught him anything, he probably never would understand.

Personally he didn't think he was that mean to her. Sure he teased her, but he and his friends teased each other all the time. It was almost affectionate, even. Yet she always argued with him, and blamed everything on him. Take the coffee, for example. While it was he that had ordered it, he'd had nothing to do with her klutzier side (which was much more than a klutzier half, guaranteed for _her_) coming out and drenching herself with it. Did he tip the cup? Did he elbow her to maker her drop it? No. Did he get blamed? Yes.

Yet he had felt something there, something when she looked deep into his eyes during that moment of joy when for a second he had almost held her. He didn't think he was exactly head-over-heels for her, but I that moment he realized how much he liked herm which was a little scary. He knew he had felt something, but it was a little awkward to come to terms with when the issue was simply dumped in his lap.

But everything would be ok. He would keep his cool, continue to play this silly cat-and-mouse game, and he would be patient. If she somehow developed feelings for him, great. If not, he'd be fine. Cool. Resolved, but not anxious. Then her head snuggled against his shoulder.

His mouth went dry and had a weird acrid taste, probably due to the fact that his heart was now beating slightly upwards of his Adam's apple. It was all he could do not to groan when he looked down into her face with its little half-smile, just like a child's. He wanted to reach out and smooth that golden hair that must have been so incredibly soft, but he was afraid to wake her and ruin it. Still, his hand twitched; so much for "cool".

Yet he couldn't help but smile. She looked so serene, so happy and peaceful. Rarely was she any of those around him. This was the side he saw when she didn't know he was there, the part of her that so many people got to see, except for him. Never did she show it to him. She just yelled and made faces and called him nasty things. Granted he _had_ been a little mean when they had first met, but he had tried to change that, which of course didn't matter to her at all.

In a way he was kind of glad. Most of the time, he just didn't know what to do around her, which was why he so often teased her. As long as she kept brushing him off he was fine. The day she confessed her feelings for him (not like that would ever happen, since she often compared him to bugs that she'd love to squish), he'd probably wind up in the hospital from the beating she would give him when he responded. Unsure of what to do next, he just kept reading his paper ad hoped she would sleep through the rest of the flight so he might actually _enjoy_ it.

* * *

Usagi's dreams were warm and happy. She played and danced in a meadow under the joyful spring sun and splashed in the water of a nearby stream. Her dearest love (whose face she never saw) was there with her, holding her and letting her know that she didn't have a care in the world. He felt so warm and comfortable that she never wanted to leave. She nuzzled against his shoulder, marveling at how strong he was. She sighed happily, and looked up into those dark blue eyes. After a second, she realized just who those eye belonged to, and shot out of her seat, straight up.

Mamoru sighed as another piercing shriek ripped from her throat. This really would be a long flight; at least it wasn't far from being over since she had slept for quite awhile.

"You… you pervert!" Random small objects began to fly through the air in the vicinity of his head. "How could you take advantage of me while I was asleep like that? It's sick!" He shook his head, and stood up to face her. She gasped and tried to move backward into the aisle but he grabbed her shoulders first.

"I didn't take advantage of you; in fact I didn't even touch you. You fell asleep, your neck relaxed, your head fell on my shoulder. I was nice enough not to shove you off of me – I actually let you sleep. I had hoped you'd be in a better mood when you woke up, but I can see now that I was wrong. Now, why don't you sit down, drink some soda, and we'll have a pleasant, _quiet _flight, shall we?" Usagi blinked. After a moment she nodded and he let go of her shoulders.

She held back the sudden wave of tears that was threatening to overwhelm her as Mamoru slumped back into his seat. The flight attendants had begun to pass out meals, so she sat in her seat next to him, avoiding looking in his direction. When she got her meal she ate it quietly and she spent much of the rest of the flight without speaking. When she felt tired she asked for a pillow and a blanket and curled up wither her back turned toward him. Even when it came time to disembark, she simply grabbed her bags and left.

He wasn't sure why, but even though she had simply done what he's asked her to for once, it hurt. Somewhere, underneath his cool mask of casual disinterest, it hurt a lot.

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A/N: Did you like? Were the funny parts absolutely stupid? Any comments are helpful as I'm not really a comedic writer. Suggestions and tips are always welcome :) 


	3. Day 1: The Mall

**A/N:** Hey guys, I'm sorry this took so long to get out; I've just been having lots of RL troubles (my fiancé's grandfather was gravely ill and then passed away Monday, plus the car broke down a couple times and I had to send my mom money…gosh what a life). Anywho, things are getting better so hopefully I'll be writing more. This chapter is a bit more serious, but I tried to make it funny too. I really hope you guys like this – I worked hard on it for you! And thanks so much to everyone who reviewed – it's people like you that make writing worth it. Thanks so much everyone! Please let me know what you think of this chapter!

Serenity -hime

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Day 1: The Mall

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Usagi woke up, confused for a moment about the strange cement ceiling that was so very close to her face. After a moment of blinking and rubbing sleepy eyes, she managed to remember where she was – at least which country, anyways. 

"Wai!" She bounded out of bed, for a wonder only slightly bumping her head on the ceiling, yet still forgetting that she was on the top bunk of a set of bunk beds. She cried out as she hit the floor, twisting her ankle and bruising her knee. Pain shot up her leg, causing tears to well up and blur her vision. She sniffled, clutching at her injured leg and trying to will the pain away. She looked up at Ami, who had pulled up an English website about the mall they would be headed to shortly. Instantly the pain was gone, and she walked over to Ami to peek at the computer screen.

"Is that where we're going?" Ami nodded, taking her glasses off and setting them on the desk. They were staying in some dormitories at a local University for the week, since the American college students had the summer off, mostly. The room was small but livable, and perfect since it was girls-only - which meant no jerks allowed. Usagi leaned forward to squint at the screen. "What does it say?" Ami laughed.

"Maybe if you paid more attention to your English lessons you would understand it. Usagi stuck her tongue out at her. "It's a listing of the restaurants and entertainment there." She turned in her chair and grinned. "You know, they have a rather large sweet shop there." Usagi's eyes grew wide as saucers. "You'd better hurry though; we're supposed to be leaving in 15 minutes."

"On no! I'm not ready yet! Don't let them go to the candy store without me!" Usagi squealed and quickly raced around the room, filling up her bag with things she wanted to take with her. Ami couldn't help but smile at her over-excited friend. It was good to see her so happy again. After they had disembarked yesterday, she had been quiet – and wearing different clothes for some reason, yet she refused to talk about it. Hopefully today would cheer her up some – they were given a free day at the mall since they had such a long flight the day before. They could meet up with their friends and just go shopping – one of Usagi's favorite sports. She closed her laptop and went to retrieve her own bag.

Usagi smiled as she looked up at her friend quietly picking up her belongings and placing them carefully in her bag. She hadn't told her what happened yesterday, mostly because it was too embarrassing. It was still hard to believe she had wound up in his lap. Even worse, she could clearly remember that gut-wrenching moment when he had confronted her and treated her like a child. She shook her head and put on a smile, rushing over to latch on to Ami's arm and drag her out the door.

* * *

Usagi stood side-by-side with Minako, both wide-eyed and slack-jawed. They stood just ahead of Ami, Rei, and Makoto, who were chatting quietly beyond the entryway to the mall. The girls had all met up outside so they could go shopping together, as well as restrain those of the group that were weak-willed. It was unfortunate that the other girls didn't see what the two blondes were looking at until it was too late. Mina and Usagi looked at each other with tears in their eyes which shone as brightly as the eyes of children that look upon Christmas presents under the tree. (Translation: Oooooooh gimme!) 

"Have you ever seen anything so beautiful, Usagi-chan?" Mina spoke in an awed half-whisper.

"I don't think so."

"It has restored my faith in this country and its people. There is hope yet." Usagi nodded in agreement.

"Yet they are still misguided. We must help them – teach them our ways to the best of our abilities." Mina nodded and they looked forward again. She raised her hand in a triumphant fist before her.

"Let us go forth!"

Ami looked up from the conversation for a moment, and he face paled to an odd gray color. She raised a hand to point and barely managed to choke out the words from her throat.

"Usagi-chan…Minako-chan…Stop them!" Rei and Makoto turned in time to see the two blondes racing into a rather large arcade, hair streaming out behind them, and they knew it was too late. They all connected eyes and shrugged. The most they could do was go in, watch, and have fun along with them.

* * *

"I want to play a racing game!" 

"Ooooh there's a flying game!"

"Flying games aren't much fun – racing is so much better." Usagi stuck her tongue out at Minako, who was eyeing the racing game next to her.

"Fine, go play your racing game. I'll find something else to play." She turned around and walked off in a huff, leaving Minako to slide in next to a little 12-year-old boy with that evil glint in her eye. Apparently she _really _wanted to compete with Americans. Usagi sighed. It was too bad they didn't have Sailor V and the Cherry Hill Temple of Doom. That was a great one.

Somehow a series of flashing lights caught her eye in an arcade full of flashing lights. She turned to the right and spied an interesting game – one of those new dancing ones. It didn't look like DDR, which she saw in the arcade all the time – this was the Korean version called Pump It Up!. She moseyed over to inspect it when she heard a voice behind her.

"Right, Odango. Like you could get two steps in before falling flat on your face and breaking the machine with it." Usagi spun around, red-faced.

"You don't know that Rei." She stuck her tongue out at her. "I could be great at it for all you know." Rei snorted.

"Not likely. You couldn't even line-dance without knocking everyone over and taking a few extra limbs with you." (Insert visual of cowboys falling like dominos here) Usagi turned around angrily and jumped up onto the pad. Rei settled against the wall behind her. "Now this I have to see."

Usagi put a few quarters in the machine and tried to figure out the controls. Once she could navigate the menu she looked for an easy song. _I need something nice and easy. She doesn't need any more excuses to make fun of me._ She picked one that looked fairly easy, ignoring the snickering behind her as the music started up. _Take a deep breath. Concentrate._

The first few steps were jerky and halting. A feeling of dread began to creep up but she pushed it away. She wouldn't lose to Rei, not this time. Her steps became more confident, and the snickering began to subside. Soon the song was over, and though she felt triumphant it wasn't enough. She had to show Rei that she could do even better – that she didn't just luck out with an easy song. Rather than turn around to gloat, she grinned and picked a fast, hard song.

* * *

Mamoru wandered idly around the mall, sparing the occasional glance for a window. Malls weren't exactly his thing, though he'd probably pick up a souvenir for Motoki. Unfortunately for him, the "free day" consisted of being in a place he didn't much care for. On the upside, they probably had a bookstore, or maybe even a cyber-café. Suddenly he saw something that made him stop in his tracks. He practically gaped open-mouthed before rushing in. 

There was Usagi up playing a dancing game. She spun, and her hair twirled out around her, seeming to wrap up her body in golden ribbons. Sweat gleamed everywhere on her skin as her legs flashed beneath her skirt, moving and twisting her to the beat of the music. Her mouth was slightly open as she drew in each breath and her eyes were intently focused on the screen. She had never looked so beautiful to him. Apparently the crowd around her agreed – a group of younger men had also stopped to watch.

For a moment he felt lost in time, watching her. He was taken back to that moment on the plane when she had fallen asleep on his shoulder, but this was so much more. He had never seen her so focused and determined as she was now. _If she was that devoted to her schoolwork, she'd rival Mizuno-san._ He shook his head._ That's exactly the kind of thing that makes her despise you, whether it's the truth or not._

He spotted a fuming Rei leaning against the wall, and he suddenly understood. Those two were always competing, and they were always mad at each other for some reason, usually because Rei was teasing her. Usagi always seemed to want to prove how good she was to Rei, as if deep down she _wanted_ and _craved_ her approval. And yet, no matter how he tried she detested him because he used to tease her. He still did, but it was only a little and she still refused to let him in. Meanwhile she strained for Rei's friendship and approval – Rei, who was meaner to her than he had ever been.

He realized Usagi's song was ending, and he ducked back out of the arcade. It wouldn't do for her to see him there, watching her. She wouldn't understand it – she'd probably think he was there to laugh at her. Maybe he'd go in search of that bookstore after all.

* * *

Usagi stopped, her chest heaving. She turned to face Rei with a big grin on her face. Rei was quite red-faced by now, so she flashed two V's for victory to see if her face could get any redder. As it turned out, it could. Usagi quickly found herself fleeing, however gravity decided to return from lunch break at about that moment. 

The edge of her shoe caught on the metal casing around the pad as she tried to jump off the side. She sailed through the air, arms wind milling wildly as she fought to keep her balance. She lost badly and went flying into…nothing. Something soft had caught her around the waist and shoulders. As she was slowly lifted up through the air she realized it was arms – several of them.

She was stood upright by several young men, most of whom were either incredibly skinny or incredibly…not. There was a frantic moment when she remembered Rei was after her, but she seemed to have disappeared. In fact all her friends were gone – no, _all_ the girls from her school had left. She turned to the guys that had saved her with an odd, unsettled feeling. She bowed slightly to them.

"Thank you for catching me. That would have hurt a lot," she said politely. A murmur went through the group. She suddenly realized that they were all wearing similar shirts – one had a controller on it, one had a computer-like cartoon, and many had gaming logos. She also began to pick up an odd, unpleasant odor. "Ah, have you seen any of my friends, like the one who was just here?"

There was that weird group-wide murmur again, mostly words in English that she didn't understand. She got a few phrases like, "Japanese girl" and "can't believe it's finally happening" and something about translating. It was around then that she began to be frightened. A rather large young man stepped forward, pushed up his glasses, and began to speak in loud, bad Japanese that he was obviously proud of.

"**Me understand can you!**" he half-shouted. She smiled and bowed slightly, already forming her escape plan.

"Yes, you speak very well." _What a hideous accent. He sounds like he's 4._ "I have to go find my friends now; I think they might be in a clothing store. Thanks for your help!" With that, she turned and ran. She vaulted over the pads, skittered out the door, and sprinted for all she was worth. She heard strangled cries from behind her begging her to come back. She ran faster.

Thankfully as she ran around a corner there was a bookstore right next to what looked like a ladies' undergarment store. Strangely enough, there seemed to be quite a few of her schoolmates there, but they seemed to be hiding rather than shopping. She ducked behind a display in the bookstore and peeked out through the crack between it and the wall as the pack of approached the women's store and halted. There was a group-wide grumble of anger and discontentment.

"She must have gone into Victoria's Secret."

"Should we go after her?"

"Weebo you idiot we can't tread on foreign soil. That's _woman_ territory."

"Maybe if we go back to the arcade, the gods will send more of them our way."

"Oh! We could set out offerings of pocky and ramen! That'd bring them for sure!"

There seemed to be a general agreement and the group moved off toward the arcade once more. Usagi heaved a sigh of relief. _Those guys sure were scary. I wonder who they were._ She thought to herself. Well, since she was in a bookstore, there was only one thing left to do – see if these Americans held true literature in their stores – Manga. She turned around right into a hard but familiar chest, bonking her nose.

"They're called 'fanboys' Odango, or 'gamers'. You should really watch out for them – I hear they're quite fascinated with young Japanese girls such as yourself." She hadn't realized she'd spoken out loud. She looked up at Mamoru, eyes smoldering.

"Out of my way, creep. I have nothing I want to say to you." She tried to push past him, but he grabbed her shoulders. As she looked up into his deep blue eyes, she was transported back in time for a moment. She looked away and the effect was broken, but it didn't make his hands any more comfortable on her.

"Usagi-san, about yesterday…I'm sorry I treated you that way. I was just tired and exasperated." He looked at her pleadingly. "I'm really sorry, honestly." Despite the fact that he managed to use her name for once, she couldn't let herself give in to him. She spoke without looking at him.

"Are you done now?" But before he could reply, the ground shook, and people started screaming.

Usagi's head shot up, and she tried to wrestle out of his grasp so she could look behind her, but his grip tightened. His eyes looked beyond her, and were full of determination. She struggled again to get away from him, but he still held tight. _Those people…I have to help them! I have to find a place to transform so I can go after them, but he won't let me go! I can't just transform here in front of him! ...But if I did, I would have the strength to get away from him, wouldn't I?_ But as she considered it, he pushed her down to the ground behind the display and looked at her very seriously.

"Usagi-san, stay here. Don't get up or go anywhere for anything. You'll be safe here." He stood up, nodded to her, and ran out into the hallway. She smiled wryly. _I'm more worried about you being safe, goofball._ She stood up as soon as she thought he was gone, and darted to the back of the store. Luckily there was a little corner with children's books that was hidden from the rest of the store. She quickly transformed, and raced out of the store and into the mall where the chaos was.

As soon as she was out she found the source of the problem – a youma seemingly made out of ice cream and cones was shooting pointy waffle cones as people and just generally harassing them. He didn't seem particularly menacing, but of course the Americans had never seen any youma and were panicking. It didn't help when he started picking up chairs and throwing them at people.

Rather than call attention to herself as she usually did, she decided to sneak up on the youma. She edged along the wall until she was directly behind it. She took off her tiara, aimed, and flung it at him. He heard the faint whistling noise and turned just in time so that it only barely grazed his back. He roared with pain, and turned to confront her head-on, and she smiled. He shot off a volley of deadly confectionaries at her, which she easily avoided. Unfortunately her legs were still a little stiff from her stint at the arcade.

After the last cone was evaded, she set out to charge at him to pull some gung-ho ultra cool super hero-y moves on him, but found she couldn't go very far forward. She looked down and saw that her skirt had been pinned to the wall by a cone. She yanked on it, but to her dismay she couldn't even tear the material a little. _Of course not. They don't make superhero suits that can come apart on a whim – then there would be a bunch of crime fighters running around in their undies._ She looked up and saw a razor-sharp cone headed straight fro her and had one final thought flash through her head as she threw up her arms in hopes of defending herself somehow. _In the headlines, it will say, 'Sailor Moon Tragically Killed by Waffle Cone.' What an exit._

After a second she felt a bunch of waffle-cone pieces hit her arms and face harmlessly. After another second went by of waiting for the pain to rip through her she peeked out between her arms, which she quickly lowered. The youma stood in shock at the deep red rose that had blossomed from his chest. On instinct she tore off her tiara and threw it gracefully. This time it didn't miss. When she had caught her tiara and place it back on her forehead, she turned to face her savior.

"Thanks for saving me." She tried to walk forward and found she was still attached to the wall. Muttering to herself, she smashed the delicate waffle cone with a fist. _Why didn't I do that before? It's stupid stuff like this that'll get me killed one day._

"Why didn't you do that before?" _Creepy_. "I might not always be here to save you, you know." She turned to face him again, but the usual dreamy smile she wore when he appeared was gone. Here was a serious side she had never shown him before outside of battle.

"That's what I used to think, anyways. What are you doing here? I'd expect this in Tokyo, but we're not exactly _in_ Tokyo." He smiled at her. Despite the seriousness on her face, her heart fluttered in her chest.

"Couldn't I ask the same of you?" Tuxedo Kamen quirked an eyebrow at her. "I think we both know the answer to that. It's curious that your friends aren't here." She took a step forward.

"Are you after my identity now? It shouldn't be too hard to figure out. What I really want to know is why this youma suddenly showed up here, especially in light of the fact that once again you were here to save me, just in time." His smile dropped.

"Have you so easily lost faith in me? Haven't I always been by your side?"

"The girls are always asking me, and I never can give them a straight answer, so I guess I'll have to ask you. Why? Why are you always saving me? What's in it for you?"

"Do you really need to ask me that? Do the people of Tokyo ask _you_ that? Look into your heart, and you'll find the answer. I know you trust me, even if you try to hide it from yourself." He turned and began walking away.

"Show me." He stopped. "Show me who you are." He turned toward her. "Prove to me that I can trust you!" He smiled at her again,

"You know I can't do that, and you know why. Besides, it shouldn't be too hard to figure out, right?" He tipped his hat to her and was gone.

* * *

Back at the dorm, all five girls gathered in Usagi and Ami's room to talk about what happened. Apparently the other girls had been barred inside a store by security when the incident happened and then they were evacuated through an emergency exit. They hadn't been able to transform and rush to help. They chattered among themselves about the ordeal as Usagi sat and looked out the window at the light rain that had begun to fall. 

"I just can't believe how rude that guard was," Rei said, clenching a fist. Mina laughed.

"I can't believe how cute he was! I wouldn't mind taking a few of these American boys home with me."

"Mina, could you get your mind off guys for just two seconds? We kind of have an issue here."

"Oh like you're not thinking of Yuuichiro every minute of every day."

"That's not funny. Just because you–"

"He knows I go to one of the schools here." They all stopped what they were doing and looked at Usagi. She turned from the window to them. "Tuxedo Kamen. He knows that I'm here because of the trip, and there's only five schools that came, and those in limited number. He doesn't even know you guys are here in the senshi form, but he knows I am. He could figure it out guys. He could _find _me." A somber mood settled over the room. Ami was the first to speak up.

"Theoretically, it's very possible. However, that means we can also find him. I can get into the school's computer system by hooking up my laptop here and, um, accessing it through some programs that I have designed for such needs." They all stared at her as a blush started to creep up her face. "They're perfectly legal, I promise." They stared. "I swear!" Makoto burst out laughing.

"Don't worry Ami. Nobody here is going to bother you about it. I think a list of all the guys from every school would be a great idea. Now, if only there were a way to figure out which boys were trapped in the stores like we were, we could possibly figure it out that way." Ami nodded.

"I can get the security footage from all the stores in the mall and cross-reference it with the list of names and matching school identifications." Everyone was looking at her again. "_What_? It's not illegal!" Usagi stood up.

"I don't know that we should even try to find out who he is." Once again the room stopped. "I mean, he doesn't want us to know who he is any more than we want him to know who we are." Rei stood up to face her.

"Baka! Of course we don't want him to know who we are! But if we know who he is then we can control him and figure out what he's after. We have to know what he wants so we can determine if he's a threat to the princess or not." Usagi looked down at the floor.

"What if he's not a threat? What if he just doesn't want anything?" She looked up at Rei again. "What if he just cares enough to save my life every time I endanger it?"

"Listen, baka, we-"

"I'm not an idiot so stop calling me that!" Rei stopped, startled. "You're always being so horrible to me! I just want to figure this out without having to think that we have to hunt him down like a pack of wolves chasing a little rabbit. I don't want to think he's responsible for the youma today. My heart tells me he wasn't, and that he means us no harm." Tears began to fill her eyes. "He's saved my life so many times, and he's always there when we need him. I'm tired of him being treated like a traitor!" She turned away, and climber up the ladder to her bed. She lay on her side with her back to them as they stood and sat in silence. Rei turned back to Ami.

"We still need to know who he is," she murmured. "Find him for us. Let's go girls." Makoto and Mina stood up and walked out with her as Ami plugged up her laptop and began ticking away at the keyboard.

* * *

**A/N:** did you like? I hope so. Thanks again to everyone who reviewed. It means a lot guys! Oh, and I guess I've decided to keep the title. I suppose it just fits. 


	4. Day 2: Paintings and Purple Teeth

A/N: Here you go guys, the next chapter of the Longest Trip Ever! Through a root canal, planning my vacation next week, working extra hours, and helping out a friend who's going to be moving shortly, I managed to get this out. I hope you guys enjoy it – the next chapter won't be out for a couple weeks – I'll be getting ready for my sophomore year of college, plus I'm going on vacation next week, and also my birthday is in about 2 weeks (only 2 days after Mamoru-kun's! We're both Leos hehe). But, I'm working on it, and I already have it planned out, which is good for me. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy this, and please let me know what you think!

Serenity-hime

* * *

**Disclaimer:** I am disclaiming that the ownership of one "Sailor Moon" and all of its counterparts (Bishojou Senshi Sailormoon, the manga, the live action, the anime, the merchandise, all of it) are not in my possession, not in the possession of and probably not in your possession 'cause you're not the creator (and if you are, I love your work and I'd really like to buy it from you but I'm only a college student ad don't have any money!)

* * *

**Day 2:** Paintings and Purple Teeth 

Usagi's feet dragged. Her hair drooped, along with her eyelids. She slumped as she walked, and groaned constantly, though softly, to let Ami know of her great discomfort and utter boredom. Ami, on the other hand, was bright and chipper. Her eyes sparkled and a smile stretched miles wide across her face. She kept trying to look everywhere at once, which gave her a rather bird-like appearance. She waved a hand at Usagi every time she grumbled about it.

"I don't see why we had to come to this stupid museum anyways. It's so boring." Ami waver her hand.

"Because it's a US History museum and we're here to culturally enrich ourselves." Usagi groaned again.

"I don't want cultural enrichment. Chocolate enrichment, yes. Video game enrichment, yes. Boring school-like history lessons in a big building full of old junk enrichment? I'll pass." Her stomach rumbled loudly. "Why can't they culturally enrich us with some food?"

"We're going to go get lunch after we look at some American artwork." Usagi rolled her eyes. _More boring old junk._ She wasn't expecting what she found in the other room.

On one side of the room, a section of the wall was upraised slightly. On it was a beautiful painting of a man and a woman dancing at a ball, seemingly their feature exhibit of the room. The woman in it had long golden hair that nearly swept the floor along with her flowing white dress decorated with pearls and seed beading. She seemed to have small translucent wings sprouting from her back. Her pearl-encrusted white mask hid her eyes, but her smile was clear and full of love for the man who held her closely as they swept into a full turn during their waltz. He was wearing a tuxedo black enough to match his hair. His mask didn't hide his eyes – that roguish blue gaze peered out form the painting with an eerie sparkle in them, almost as If he were truly seeing the world around him.

Usagi felt strangely drawn to the painting, and broke away from the group to go look at it, weaving through various pottery and statue displays. She looked up into those piercing blue eyes. _They're the same color as Mamoru's eyes._ She shook her head. What a weird thought to have out of nowhere like that. Besides, the man in the painting looked more like Tuxedo Kamen anyways, not that cretin. _Cretin, now _there's_ a good word for him._ She smiled and focused on the painting again.

"He looks so much like Tuxedo Kamen-sama," she murmured.

"I suppose there's a resemblance." Usagi nearly jumped clean out of her skin. Ami was standing a little behind her, looking up at the painting. She stepped forward and looked at Usagi. "Are you still thinking about him?" Usagi blushed and nodded.

"I can't help it. I keep remembering his eyes and the way he _looked_ at me." She looked up to the painting as she spoke. "I find myself wondering where he is. Is he here, looking at pieces of history as we are? Could he be in this same room, looking at this very painting?" She shook her head. "I suppose I'll never know, and I'm not sure I want to."

Her face was somber, possibly one of the first times Ami had seen her that way, except for last night in their room. She sensed confusion in Usagi, but it seemed to bring out the leadership qualities that she needed. Usagi smiled a little. "I still just can't believe that he's out age. I always thought he was much older."

"Odango-atama thought? What a shocker." Once again a voice form behind her scared her half to death, only this time she did jump. When her feet touched the ground she stumbled and her shoulder caught a square, hollow pillar that held a painted clay vase. As the vase flew upward she stumbled sideways and backward. Quickly configuring the trajectory, Ami snagged the vase out of the air easily. She held the precious parcel to her chest as Mamoru caught the other one.

For the second time in less than a week, Usagi found herself in close proximity to her greatest source of anxiety. Well, second unless you included the bookstore yesterday. A slow blush began to creep up her cheeks as she stared at the chest she was becoming eerily familiar with. She closed her eyes, convincing herself that she wanted the warmth around her to go away. At least her arms were between them, though they were kind of pinned to his chest.

Suddenly she realized that she could feel something under his jacket, probably inside an inner pocket. It felt smallish and soft and – was that the smell of roses? All of the sudden the warmth around her was gone, leaving her feeling strangely empty and cold. Her eyes met his a moment of confusion, but her puzzlement was quickly replaced with anger.

"You nearly gave me a heart attack you jerk!" She shoved aside the lingering memory of being in his arms, using it to fuel her rage. "You shouldn't sneak up on people like that!"

"I wasn't sneaking, I simply walked, like so." He walked a few steps and back, smiling his amused little smirk that she hated so much.

"You still shouldn't do it! You…you almost made me destroy a precious piece of American History!" From behind her Ami rolled her eyes as she carefully replaced the pottery. Mamoru was trying hard not to laugh.

"The important thing is that you didn't destroy it." He grinned; she seethed. "Who were you talking about anyways? You sounded rather hung up on this guy." Usagi's heart decided it was a good time to quit working and go on a small vacation. It had probably jumped out of her gaping mouth.

"Wha…what are you talking about?" He rolled his eyes.

"Oh please, Odango, like you don't know." She blinked. Playing innocent wasn't going to work here. Ami stepped up beside her defensively, and the shared a look. They would have to be a lot more careful when talking about anything pertaining to senshi business. Usagi looked back to Mamoru.

"How much of it did you hear?" Mamoru grinned.

"Only about your obsession with a tall, dark-haired man who happens to be close to your age." Yup, her heart had just about quit permanently, along with her eyeballs which were practically dangling on her cheeks by now. "Don't be so shocked Odango. I've always known you were secretly in love with me." Then she did something Mamoru didn't expect at all – she laughed till big tears streamed down her face. Somehow that hurt him a lot more than the angry response and insults he had expected, but he kept smiling as if he got the joke while Usagi choked out a response and Ami waved to some of their little friends off in the distance.

"You…you thought I was talking about you?" Even Ami smiled a little. "You're nothing like Tuxedo Kamen-sama!" Suddenly the room seemed too quiet, and Usagi's laughter seemed really, really loud. She stopped laughing when what she had said hit her. _Did I really just do that? I did, didn't I?_ She fought to keep from blushing as a rather queer expression crossed his face.

"Tuxedo Kamen-sama?" Usagi let off a high-pitched, nervous giggle, hoping her smile didn't look too forced.

"Didn't you hear? There's a big rumor going around that Tuxedo Kamen and Sailor Moon rescued all of us at the mall yesterday." She suddenly saw Minako over his shoulder, and was filled with relief as Minako gave her a confident nod before rushing over to them excitedly, talking in a super-fast voice without really pausing for responses.

"Usagi-chan! Have you heard the big news? Remember when we were trapped in that department store? Well apparently Sailor Moon _and_ Tuxedo Mask were fighting a youma! Isn't that totally cool? I mean that means that they're both here with us on this trip and we might even know them personally but it's even cooler because that means they're our age and still fight crime! I wonder how they manage school and superhero stuff at the same time, but isn't it cool?" Usagi was beginning to wonder if she ever needed to breathe when she realized that Minako was actually waiting for a response. She nodded enthusiastically and tried to smile again. She turned back to Mamoru at that point, which is why they both missed the secretive nod between Minako and Makoto and Rei, who were standing behind Mamoru.

"See Mamoru, we were just talking about everything that happened yesterday." Mamoru grinned a little.

"Oh so then it's Tuxedo Kamen that you're drooling over then?" He had every reason to smile – little did Usagi know that she was really still drooling over him. Usagi blushed, though he couldn't be sure if it was in anger or embarrassment.

"I'm not drooling over him." Mamoru's grin widened. "And besides, he's much better looking than you any day, dog-face!" He was showing teeth now. "What on Earth are you grinning about you goon!" He laughed.

"No reason Odango, though I think a superhero might be a bit far out of your league."

"Oh please. Not like I exactly see Sailor Moon begging for your number." His mood darkened a little, and she grinned in satisfaction. They were nearly nose to nose by now.

"And how do you know she doesn't? She could be my girlfriend for all you know."

"Oh please, a creep like you with a girlfriend? That'll be the day!"

"I've had girlfriends, for your information."

"Then why are you being so defensive?" Just when _had_ he lost he upper hand in this conversation?

"I'm not being defensive!"

"Minako-chan!" Makoto called. "Come over here, I have something to show you!" Just as Usagi was going to snap back at Mamoru, Minako ran past her. She "accidentally" bumped into Usagi as she ran by, and hard. Usagi went flying forward, and the next thing she knew she was in Mamoru's arms. Again. Only this time, there was a bit more to the situation. Being that their faces had been so close when they were arguing, they had managed to lock lips as Usagi was thrown forward.

Usagi's wide, shocked eyes looked up into Mamoru's equally startled ones, and time seemed to halt around then, or at least move in long, jerky motions. Her heart was beating through molasses, and her body was frozen against his as she was splayed out full-bodied over him. His lips were sweet and soft, but her mind could barely comprehend them under hers. The sudden realization of standing in a room full of her schoolmates, pressed against him hit her, and her heart began to pick up its pace again. She tore away from him, covering her mouth with her hand.

Mamoru watched, unable to move as her eyes filled with tears and her face lost most of its color. She had ripped herself from his arms, and he felt like something was missing as she stared at him, moment after moment. The room seemed silent and dead around them. What a wonderful, bliss-filled moment only to be followed with this terrible silence.

Finally the spell shattered and she ran from the room, tears blinding her vision. He had just stood there, staring at her without a word. She ran toward a bathroom, a sitting room, anything to be away from him and everyone else. One of her friends may have called out to her, but she didn't really hear it. All she could see were his eyes looking down at her, all she could feel was his lips on hers and his body pressed against her. Sobs wracked her body as she finally found solace in a bathroom, where she stayed for much of the rest of the day's trip, conversing with herself mentally.

* * *

(A/N: To avoid confusion, this is Usagi's mental conversation with herself.) 

_So, what now?_

_I don't know…I'm not sure what to do or what to think…_

_So don't do anything. Don't think about it. Just deal. Stand up, walk yourself back out there, and pretend it never happened._

_I can't do that! I can't face him after that. I mean I'll cream my friends but I can't see him again…I just can't._

_And why can't you Usagi? Why can't you face him?_

_I…I don't know._

_Sure you do._

_No, I don't!_

_It wouldn't bother you if you didn't feel something for him._

_I don't feel anything for him. Nothing at all. Well, except for the blinding rage I go into every time I see him._

_It isn't rage, it's more like fear. And why would you be so embarrassed if you didn't care about him even in the slightest?_

_That's not true._

_Oh ye sit is._

_No it isn't!_

_You can't lie to yourself, you know._

_Sure I can._

_Oh?_

_I mean it isn't lying!_

_Right. You can't fool me, Usagi._

Usagi's head sank in defeat. She knew she was right. Well, that the no-nonsense part of her was right, anyways. Even though he was always mean, she had still always kind of liked him. He just got under her skin so _well._ And now there they were and they had already kissed and he hadn't even bought her a necklace or given her his class ring. This definitely wasn't the way to go about a relationship.

Whoa. Back up a couple steps there. A what? What was that again? That was definitely no the right word. I mean even friends had…those things…but that word wasn't to be used now, not about them. It just wasn't. They weren't…_together_…nor were they going to be.

_Calm down Usagi, no jumping to conclusions here. Your friends just set you up, made you come to some crucial conclusions about yourself, no big deal. Mamoru's probably laughing his head off, considering how much he likes to tease you. Since he doesn't have any feelings for you, this'll all blow over and there'll be no problem. It'll be forgotten._

Wait, Mamoru didn't have feelings for her, right? Yes. Yes he didn't have feelings for her, not yes he did. Did he? She didn't think that he did. It could be possible, but she was almost completely sure that he most likely didn't. Probably.

With a groan, she finally was able to pull herself out of her little stall and go meet her class before everyone left for lunch.

* * *

"Hey Usagi, we saw you locking lips with that hot junior," a girl called out as she approached the class. She ignored her, walking over to Ami, who smiled almost apologetically at Usagi. Several others whistled or yelled out things, but she focused on Ami and nothing else. That smile said something. 

"You were in on this, weren't you?" Ami blushed. She tried to avoid looking at Usagi but she got right in her face. "You were in on this." It wasn't a question any more. "I can't believe it Ami, how could you help them do that to me?"

"Well…Minako-san makes a very convincing argument when she wants to…" Flames lit in Usagi's eyes, and she shook.

"Mi…na….ko…chan…" Her face turned red. "Oh, she will pay. Oh yes, she will definitely pay." Ami backed up against the wall, fear plastered on her face as Usagi grinned evilly. She turned her gaze back on Ami, who flinched. "And you're going to help me."

* * *

Mina skipped happily up to the cashier at the cafeteria back at the school they were staying at. Things had gone incredibly well – Mamoru and Usagi were well on their way to becoming a couple by now. He had seemed so surprised after she had left, and he himself had gone off without saying a word, seeming lost in thought. Lost in thought was good – it meant he was contemplating the kiss. She grinned as Makoto stepped up beside her. 

"Mako-chan! So good of you to join me!" Makoto smiled a little.

"Minako-chan, don't you think what we did earlier was a little bit mean? I mean, Usagi-chan seemed really upset by it." Mina laughed and waved her off.

"Are you kidding? Usagi seemed just fine afterwards. She even sat behind m eon the bus since our schools shared busses! And besides," she struck a defiant pose, stars sparkling in her eyes, "as an agent of love and justice I simply can't stand by and watch two people so obviously in love fight. I had to step up to the plate and give them the 'push' they needed!" She laughed generously at her own joke, and Makoto just sighed. She was always like that.

"Aren't you afraid she'll do something to you, though?" Minako grinned again.

"Of course not! She'll be much happier that her and Mamoru-kun are together!" Makoto tried to remind her that they weren't together yet but Minako cut her off. "Besides, she could never get a prankster like me!" She stepped up to the cashier and opened her bag to get her wallet out so she could give the lady her meal ticket.

Makoto watched as Minako stuck her hand in, and stopped. Her face turned a shade of green, and she just stood there for a minute before pulling out her hand, which was covered in a sticky green substance that nicely matched her face. She squealed and flung it off her hand, where it promptly smacked some freshman square in the face, knocking him to the floor. Minako flailed around, screaming her head off, and Makoto sighed again.

Eventually she calmed down enough that they could get food and walk over to a table to sit down and eat. Strangely enough, there was a table marked with a piece of paper that said simply, "Aino Minako". Minako laughed heartily at this.

"If she wants me to play her little games I will, but I shan't fall prey to her traps that she sets!" _Was that even a sentence?_ Makoto smiled encouragingly as Minako searched the entire table, all the chairs, and underneath everything for some kind of a trap. When she was satisfied, she sat down carefully and set her food on the table. She smiled and was about to start eating when she realized she had forgotten a drink. She jumped up and ran to catch up with Makoto, who had already started to head over to the machines for a soda.

Needless to say, when she was seated back at the table, her food had been tampered with. Her spaghetti was gooey, her ice cream had salt in it, and her bread had been unfortunately stabbed with a fork, which was still sticking out of it. It wasn't till later that Minako even noticed that her teeth were purple.

Usagi was happier, Minako had purple teeth, and eventually Makoto and Rei were able to soothe Usagi and convince her to stop the pranks. Usagi herself still felt weird after the whole "kissing" thing, but revenge always made her feel better. She tried not to think about Mamoru much more, but there was this odd nagging feeling that followed her for the rest of the day. She brushed it off, and plotted further ways to torture one of her best friends.

* * *

A/N: Did you like, please let me know! And thank you sooo much to everyone who's reviewed so far, and put me on favorites lists and stuff…it makes me feel like a real writer sometimes (sniffle). 


	5. Day 3: The Pond and the Museum

**A/N:** Guess what, another chapter, but this time from a long overdue fic! That's right, TLTE is now back in my queue for writing! I've got 3 projects I'm currently working on, and this is now one of them. I've decided to get back into this story, so I dug out what I had already written and finished it up.

This chapter ends a bit more seriously than the rest of the fic, but I had to find some serious ground somewhere. Don't worry, it'll get lots of happy and better soon! Please enjoy, read, and review!

Ja,

Serenity-hime

P.S. One of my readers alerted me that this chapter wasn't working properly, and I know they've had a lot of problems wiht the servers, so I'm just re-uploading it. Enjoy, and thanks to **SailorKMoonie**!

**Day 3: The Pond and the Museum**

Usagi sat up in bed in the early morning with sweat dripping down her face and soaking her pajamas. She was awake even before Ami, which was a rare occasion indeed. She stretched, noticing how pale the light was that peeked around the blinds. She decided to get up and get ready early rather than sleep in and rush around later. She quickly donned her uniform and crept out of the room, trying not to wake Ami. Thankfully their room was on the bottom floor, so she didn't have to take that wretched elevator. The darn thing always shook and stuttered, which was rather frightening.

She walked outside into the brilliant sunshine, instantly feeling the warmth wash over her. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, taking in the rich scents of the earth. She had lived her whole life in Tokyo, and though they had gardens and parks it wasn't anything like the rich scents out here in the country. Well, the school they were staying at seemed to be a small one, and it was in a small town surrounded by fields. It was as much in the country as she had really been.

Straight out from the dorm she was staying in was a large pond with a walkway crossing in front of her from left to right, leading to the library. Farther back was a fountain, its cascading waters making the only noise in the still morning air, other than a few twittering birds. She smiled warmly. It just might be a great day after all.

She headed over to the fountain, humming a little tune. It was so pretty in the early-morning light. She walked about halfway over the walkway so she could look at the fountain with the sun sparkling off it in millions of tiny little lights as droplets splashed back into the fountain. As she watched it, her eyes became distant as the bit of water plunged back into the depths, and her thoughts turned to yesterday.

Why had Minako done what she had? It had been so…was unexpected the right word? It wasn't _exactly_ awful… Her fingers wandered up to brush her lips as the memory flooded back to her – that one clear moment when the world stopped. _My first kiss_¸ she thought wistfully. Who would have guessed that she would have received it in such a way? She had always pictured a romantic scene by the lake at sunset. _And roses – can't forget the roses._

Suddenly a fish darted up from the pond to grab an unsuspecting bug form the surface. Usagi squealed with delight and leaned over the railing to see it better. It looked like a goldfish. Hadn't someone said something about the American students having goldfish? Something about them dumping them in the pond at the end of the year…She leaned over a little further and gasped in delight as she spied a few more darting to the surface. A smile lit her face at the little flashes of gold in the water. One came to the surface for a moment, seeming to look straight at her, which was slightly unnerving.

"A family member of yours, Odango?"

Usagi didn't really hear much of what was actually said, because as the voice spoke a hand fell on her right shoulder. Naturally, she screamed bloody murder and jerked away before she recognized the voice. And of course, in her own special style Usagi managed to let her feet slide out from under her and she pitched forward.

The hand on her shoulder tightened, but rather than stop her it only succeeded in turning her as she fell. As she tumbled forward the hand slid down her arm as she overshot the rail and began to fall. Another hand gripped her arm as it slipped out of its grasp down to her wrist. She flew outward and the front of her body collided with the bridge. Air rushed out of her lungs with a big whooshing noise. Her vision blurred for a moment, but when it cleared she realized she was still dangling above the water. She looked up into a pair of unfamiliar blue eyes.

As she looked up into those eyes she was startled to realize that the eyes weren't unfamiliar, but the particular emotion filling those particular eyes was so odd to her that she couldn't recognize them instantly. There was a deep concern in those eyes, and worry. Had she ever seen those emotions in those eyes? She didn't think she had or would even if a semi truck fell out of the sky and landed on her, her cat, all of her living relatives, and her closest friends. Yet there it was.

Mamoru smiled a little as he gripped her arm, made a little nervous by her intense stare.

"Fancy catching you hanging out around here, Odango."

Her wonderment at his concern screeched to a halt, leaving flaming skid marks. The lingering feelings from her contemplation of the day before were gone. She had actually _believed_ she could have feelings for this jerk? Fury swelled up within her.

"You dirty rotten creep! You can't even be nice at a time like this, when I'm dangling close to me death!" He gave her a wry smile.

"I just saved you then, didn't I?"

"You're the one who put me in this position!"

"But I still saved your life, evidently." She grew a decidedly dark shade of red.

"You didn't save my life! That's barely a drop at all! I have to jump down farther than that in gym class! Now pull me up before my arm breaks off!" Mamoru blinked at the sudden switch in perspective, but an evil grin quickly crossed his face. Usagi didn't like that grin at all.

"Not that far of a drop, eh?" Usagi felt the horror rising within her.

"Mamoru don't you dare –"

"I guess there wasn't any need for me to catch you at all – "

"I swear I'll kill you – "

"– so I should just let you go."

A cry escaped her lips as his hands released her arm and she fell the couple feet into the cold water of the pond. Mamoru nearly hurt himself from laughing so hard as she surfaced, gasping for air, looking for all her beauty like a drowned cat. He laughed until tears ran down his face, especially when she started squealing about the killer fish viciously rushing past her legs.

He heard a lot of splashing and looked down to see Usagi sloshing towards solid ground, murder written on her dace. He suddenly felt the urge to be elsewhere, especially since Usagi was almost ashore and he valued his life and the ability to move all of his limbs. He began to head back toward the dormitory that was housing the boys, knowing he would be safe there. A shriek and the sound of wet shoes slapping on the concrete made him give a quick glance backwards. What he saw made his jaw drop and his eyes nearly pop out of his head.

Usagi had begun chasing after him, flipping her sopping hair behind her and ignoring her clothing which was equally soaked. She completely failed to realize the effect the water had on her clothing. Her slightly-tight shirt had become nearly transparent, and clung tightly to all of her womanly places. If that wasn't enough, her skirt was plastered to her slender legs, and had ridden up a little, revealing more skin than he was used to seeing from anyone but the Sailor Senshi.

As she ran toward him, unconscious of her clothing or how obvious it made certain…ahem…movements, Mamoru's eyes only grew wider, and he nearly tripped over his own feet in a surprising move of gracelessness. As he stumbled Usagi plowed on before realizing he had all but stopped. She hit him dead on with her whole body at full speed. The two went down in a tangle of limbs, him half on his side and her on top of him.

As the haze cleared, she tried to regain her breath as he lay there speechless. His hands twitched and moved upward, then hesitated, then moved downward again as he didn't know what to do with them. He _wanted _to wrap them around her, but his mind was screaming out warning signals. Instead he watched her closely as she looked down at him, reality slowly dawning on her face. He gave her a lopsided grin as her eyes grew wide as his had been a few minutes before.

"Gee Odango; I didn't know you wanted to catch me that badly." Her face, which had drained of color when she fell now once again turned bright red. She jumped up, her hands clenched into little fists at her sides. He felt a loss as she tore away and glared at him with fury lighting her eyes.

"You are _such _a jerk! Can't you just stop torturing me for two seconds of your life?" He blinked, slightly taken aback but her rage.

"Listen, Usag-"

"No!" She cut him off. "I don't want to hear it! I'm sick of you treating me like some worthless little mutt. I'm sick of it!" She whirled around and ran off, tears streaming freely down her face. Mamoru lay there propped up on his elbows, awestruck as she ran away, hair streaming our behind her. _Smooth Chiba, real smooth._

(Break)

After a quick shower and a change of clothes (including a non-white shirt and overalls), Usagi was headed out to the busses with the girls. Thankfully, she had slipped into the shower without Ami waking up. The last thing she needed was for the girls to tease her incessantly about Mamoru dumping her into the pond. Rei and Mina would have a field day with that one. She shook her head. At least they were waling around outside today, so that idiot couldn't' corner her about it.

As they lined up to get on the busses, she saw Mamoru watching her out of the corner of her eye. She wanted to throw him one of those darkly evil "woman" looks that she was starting to get good at. Instead, she laughed loudly and slapped Mina on the back as though she had said something extraordinarily funny, causing Mina to wince in pain.

"Usagi-chan, what was that for?" Usagi laughed loudly and grinned at her friend. She talked through gritted teeth.

"Just get on the bus."

(Break)

The girls got off the busses with their classmates in the "historical" part of town. It was a sort of downtown district full of colonial style houses, museums, and quaint little stores and coffee shops. Usagi smiled as the sun filtered down through the trees lining the streets. The day may have started out somewhat idiotically but it still had time to redeem itself.

Again from the corner of her eye she saw Mamoru.

"Speaking of idiots," she muttered.

"What was that, Usagi-chan?" Minako asked from behind her. Usagi blushed, realizing she had spoken out loud. She shook her head.

"Nothing, Minako-chan."

(Break)

Mamoru watched helplessly as Usagi walked away with her friends, several emotions churning oddly within him. He had felt this nagging urge to apologize her, which only intensified every time he saw her looking away. He wasn't sure why he needed to apologize so badly, or why he even felt bad about what happened. Dumping her in the pond had seemed like a good idea at the time.

Then again, maybe it was what happened afterward. He hadn't really been mean to her, but the way she had run off like that had jarred something deep inside of him. He wasn't sure how to apologize for her getting upset and it shaking him up so badly, but that must be what was digging at him.

Or maybe it was the way she looked when she climbed out of the water. Just the thought made him blush. He had thought about Usagi a lot, but that was…wholly different. He noticed her much more modest clothing and was glad in a way. A small, small way in which he didn't have to deal with certain…feelings. Not that he entirely minded her previous attire since those cute uniforms reminded him of Sailor Moon's outfit, as well as being very clingy in certain places.

He pushed those thoughts away. He shouldn't be thinking those things about Usagi _or_ Sailor Moon. He didn't even know who Sailor Moon was, and Usagi was just so…pure and innocent. It felt wrong to look at her like that, which was probably why he felt the need to apologize to her. He felt guilty for seeing her in a way she probably wouldn't see herself for a couple more years yet – as a sexy and highly attractive young woman.

He shrugged, following the group of students he was with. They were only slightly behind Usagi's group, which was leaving the historic house of some famous (but very dead – isn't that what it takes to be historic?) American and heading to a nearby museum.

He shrugged as their leader began droning on in English about how great the dead guy was and let his thought turn to the matter at hand. He still hadn't figured out who Sailor Moon was, though he thought if he saw her again he might be able to figure out which school she went to. He had realized after the incident with Usagi earlier that her uniform may simply be a variation of her school uniform. His group was just entering the cool shade of the museum and his mind was occupied with uniforms when the screaming started.

(Break)

He pushed frantically at his classmates who were gaping from the doorway of what seemed to be a youma made up of paint cans, paintbrushes, and pallets. It was currently trying to shoot one of the teachers with a sickly green paint that ate away at the wood paneling on the walls. Another_ youma? The US must have an infestation!_ He sprinted toward a dark room off to the side, praying no one was in there.

He skidded to a stop once inside the room, looking around to make sure no one was in there and ducked behind the door that was mostly whole. The other one looked like it had been shattered by something big. He transformed quickly and dashed back out into the confusion without looking back, and without seeing a very pale and shaking Sailor Moon step out from behind a statue near the back of the room.

(Break)

She sank to her knees. How could this possibly be? The beautiful, unobtainable man she adored and the cruel jerk who ran around tossing innocent people into ponds were the _same person?_ It just couldn't be. There was no way. Her mind tried to deny it a million ways, but she had seen it clear as day. Right after her own transformation he had rushed in and transformed before her eyes.

She wasn't sure what she was supposed to do now. Should she rush out and fight? Would he know that she knew? _Maybe he could just handle it on his own…_ Then a scream pierced through her thoughts and she ran to the door.

The youma was advancing on one of her classmates, ignoring the roses sprouting from its side. Just as Tuxedo Kamen reached for his cane, she whipped her tiara off and arced it straight for the center of the youma's back. The tiara sliced through exactly on target and returned to her hand and she practically threw herself behind the surviving door as she jammed the tiara back on her forehead. In doing so she fell against one of the sets of towering metal shelves that lined the walls and held many boxes labeled with things that looked like they would be used in restoring works of art. Unfortunately one of those boxes containing cans of enamel was jarred loose by Sailor Moon rocketing into the shelf it rested on. The only good thing was that she never saw it coming.

(Break)

She floated in emptiness for awhile, just basking in the peacefulness of it all. There wasn't any pain here, nothing to disturb her. How great it would be to float here forever. Alas, she couldn't stay forever. She could already here someone calling to her, trying to free her of her comfortable place. It was probably Luna trying to make her wake up and finish the homework she had dozed off on, or maybe her mom trying to get her up for school. Wait, that didn't sound right. The voice calling her was deeper, more masculine. Could it be Kenji-papa? Wasn't he away on a trip for the newspaper? Then who could it be.

"Usagi, you have to wake up."

But she didn't feel like it. It was so _nice_ here. She didn't have to be Sailor Moon here; she could just stay as Usagi for as long as she wanted.

"Usagi, you can't sleep you've _got_ to wake up, please!" Now she could feel him shaking her. Why was it so bad for her to sleep? Sleeping was nice, because then you could have lots of happy dreams. She frowned a little. If she wasn't Sailor Moon here, she couldn't be with Tuxedo Kamen, and that just wouldn't be any good.

Tuxedo Kamen.

Wait a minute, she had just seen him…he was fighting a youma! What had happened to the youma? All those people! She struggled up, out of the darkness that fought to tear her down. She opened her eyes weakly and coughed, each cough pounding another spike into her brain.

She realized someone was holding her. She looked up into the eyes of one Chiba Mamoru, who was gently cradling her against him. She looked up at him, and he sighed in relief. She looked deeply into those eyes, and wondered why they were so filled with concern.

"This is getting to be a habit, jerk." She smiled faintly and tried to sit up. He chuckled and helped her come to a sitting position, which made her head whirl. "What happened?"

"Near as I can tell, a youma attacked and must've either knocked you into these shelves, or shook the place so much that you got grazed by a box. You're not bleeding, just a bit of a bump." He looked closely into her eyes. "Doesn't seem like you have a concussion though. How long were you back here?"

He looked at her oddly, and she suddenly remembered something crucial, but she couldn't let him know. Not yet, not here. She shook her head a little.

"I can't really remember. I just remember being in here – I think I ran in here, and then I blacked out." He nodded, relief etched on his face. "Help me up?" He stood and helped her up. She, like everyone else who had been injured had to be checked out by paramedics before she was able to go back. Everyone injured and anyone who wanted was taken back to the dorms to rest for the remainder of the day.

None of the other girls had been injured, and they wanted to stay with the groups still exploring, but they were concerned that there would be no one to look after Usagi. Mamoru had volunteered, and after several protests that he couldn't go in the girls' dorms he said they would bunker down in one of the lobbies where there were some couches and TVs. They looked unhappy about it, but Usagi waved them off and said she would be fine, and besides they shouldn't pass up any opportunities to see more of America. She didn't tell them, but she felt more comfortable with Mamoru watching over her, knowing what she did. They would probably flip out and chase him off with nail files and curses if they knew. But she was happy enough.

(Break)

Back at the dorms, Mamoru helped her up the stairs to his room. She looked at him quizzically but he just smiled.

"There's no one in my room right now, and I think you'd probably be more comfortable in a bed. Plus it's probably better if someone finds you in my room than me anywhere in the girl's dorms." She laughed with him, and he helped her lay down. On the lower bed. As she relaxed, he instinctively brushed a lock of golden hair from her face, his fingers lingering for just a moment before he snatched them back. She reached up and grabbed his hand before he could turn away. He turned back, surprise on his face. Since when had she wanted to touch him?

"I just…thanks, for taking care of me." She smiled up at him, and he felt a little weak in the knees. This was going entirely too close to what he wanted, so he just smiled at her and took his hand back gently.

"You're welcome, now try and get some sleep." She looked confused for a moment, and she sat up as he went to sit down at his desk.

"I'm not really sleepy. I thought maybe we could, you know, talk or something." He chuckled.

"About what exactly, Odango? Boys? Nail polish? Or maybe we could tell ghost stories while we braid each other's hair." He swiveled around to see a hurt look on her face.

"You don't really mean that." He rolled his eyes.

"Of course not, I'm just joking around, Odango. Can't you take a joke?" He grinned. "Maybe that bump on your head's a little more serious than we thought."

"Stop it." He blinked at her soft, serious voice. "Stop calling me that stupid name, and stop making fun of me. You're not supposed to act like this; you're supposed to be _nice_ and caring." He was starting to get fairly confused himself. Since when did she expect him to be Mr. Nice Guy? They had always fought like this, but maybe she just wasn't feeling up to it because of her head. He softened his tone.

"I'm sorry, Usagi-san. For teasing you and for dumping you in the pond this morning." Her cheeks colored. _There_ was the Odango he liked so much. Then the color faded, and she actually smiled. _Smiled_! After being reminded that he had dumper her in the pond.

"I had forgotten about that, what with the youma attack and everything. That wasn't very nice, you know. But it's ok, I know you didn't mean that either." He just stared at her for a minute. Then he reached over and picked up the phone and spoke into the receiver.

"Doc, we've got a serious problem. This girl's hit her head so hard she can't remember who she is! We need to get some medical tests, and get the government labs in here. She's being nice to me!" A pillow came sailing by his head and he se the receiver down. He looked at her and she was still smiling a little. He was glad he could make her happy, but she seemed so different. Not different as Usagi, just different around him. This was part of that side of her he didn't see when she was with him, and it was kind of concerning that she was acting this way now.

He walked over and picked up her pillow, then walked back to lay it down on the bed for her. When he leaned over she didn't shift around so that they weren't so close, in fact she almost leaned into him. Was she…smelling him? He set he pillow down and slowly stood up a little, until he was about even with her face, but pulled back enough to look at her.

"Usagi, are you feeling ok?" She smiled innocently at him, a blush caressing her cheeks. Something touched his heart, and he felt like kissing her.

"Oh I'm fine," she said in that same, small voice. She looked up at him through her lashes. "If I asked you to, would you kiss me right now?"

Whoa.

He stood up so quickly he whacked his head on the top bunk bed before he backed away, grimacing with the pain as she looked up at him in surprise.

"What are you talking about? Why on Earth would you want me to kiss you?" Not that he really minded. She frowned a little.

"So you're saying you don't want to?"

"No, I'm saying I don't know why _you_ would want me to." A hurt expression began to form on her face.

"Well, what if I said I liked you?" He blinked. This, he hadn't expected.

"And where did this come from?"

"What, I can't just like somebody now? Is there something wrong with me that I can't care about people?" Her voice was beginning to rise in anger, so he tried to backpedal.

"Now you know I don't mean that, it's just you've always been so hostile with me." _Great way to make her feel better, idiot._

"Hostile? Is that the kind of person you think I am?" Now there was the threat of tears. What was going on here? He looked at the clock, knowing that everyone else would be getting back soon.

"Look, that's not what I meant and you know it. I want you to tell me what this is about right now, and no more fooling around." She looked away for a minute, chewing on her lower lip in thought. He couldn't help but smile a little, thinking how cute she was. Then she looked back at him with big, serious eyes and his smile faded.

"If I tell you something, do you promise you won't get mad at me?" He sighed.

"I can try, but I can't promise something I can't control." She hesitated. "Go ahead, tell me."

"I…" her voice trailed off as she looked at him with eyes that were…almost frightened? What on Earth was going on here? "Mamoru-san…earlier today, when the youma attacked, I saw you." His heart fell down somewhere into his stomach. "I know that you're Tuxedo Kamen."

His world started spinning, and he grabbed the back of his desk chair to keep from falling over. How could he have been so careless? He wasn't supposed to let people find out his secret identity, most certainly not a teenaged girl who would probably tell everyone in sight.

"You…you're not going to tell anyone, are you?" Panic was gripping his heart. This was a bad, bad thing. "Nobody else can know."

"Of course not." She stood up and walked over to him, looking up at him uncertainly. "I wouldn't do that to you, I know how important it is to you." She put a hand on his arm, and suddenly he felt sick as realization dawned on him. Anger started to fill him, despite his promise.

"That's why you've been acting like this, why you haven't been fighting with me!" She stepped back, and he knew from the look in her eyes it was true. "You've been acting like you like me, but you don't. You like Tuxedo Kamen." Acid lined every word. "I can't believe you. I thought you of all people would be different, Usagi. I thought you would understand." He laughed bitterly. "Well, now you know that your masked superhero is just a jerk, but that's ok, isn't it? Because you can get past the façade that is Chiba Mamoru, you can live with that only to be close to Tuxedo Kamen."

She shook her head frantically. "That's not true at all! That's not why I feel this way!" He pointed to the door.

"Get out. Go back to your own room. The girls should be there by now, they can fawn over you while you tell them of how Tuxedo Kamen saved you, and you got to spend the whole day with him." She looked up at him, hurt in her eyes. "I said get out!" She turned and fled, and he collapsed onto his chair. How could this be happening?


	6. Day 4: The Morning After

**A/N:** Mwahaha, more fodder for my readers! I've been in a very writing-ish mood lately, which I blame a lot on Emi-chan (EmiTheStrangeXXO) and Sword-chan (EightofSwords). I can't believe Sword-chan's come back! Please read her work, because it's absolutely fabulous and she's back from her long break. Emi-chan has some great stories too, especially one she's working on right now, called "Silver Forest". It's got some mature themes though so be forewarned!

Let me know if you like this chapter – I fear it's veered away from the funny, and more toward the serious, but I had to do it to keep the flow. Please R&R, it makes my cats happy!

Serenity-hime

doobeedoobeedoo

**Day 4: The Morning After**

Usagi sat up in the morning, groggy and rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She had barely slept all night – she had gotten in a short while before the girls, and had just lain in bed pretending to be asleep. She had laid there most of the night, staring at the wall, then the ceiling, then out into the dark room, then the ceiling again. Now here she was, sitting up as the sun was just barely peeking over the horizon, and she lacked the ability to sleep any more.

All night visions had flashed before her eyes. Mamoru holding her as she opened her eyes, Mamoru transforming before her eyes, Mamoru pointing to the door as he yelled at her to leave.

She winced at that one. She still wasn't sure why he had been quite so harsh with her. Why did it matter if she liked him or his alter-ego, or both? It wasn't like he was a completely different person from Tuxedo Kamen; they even looked a lot alike. Still, in a way she could understand a little. If she had found out that he was head-over-heels for Sailor Moon, but couldn't stand her she would probably be hurt, and confused.

A frown crossed her face, causing deep shadows around her mouth and her eyes. It wasn't as though she despised Mamoru; it wasn't like she ever had. Sure, he was mean to her but those feelings she had felt had been growing for awhile. Seeing him as Tuxedo Kamen had just…intensified it somehow. It almost made it ok for her to like Mamoru, because despite being mean to her she _knew_ now that there was a soft, tender, caring part of him.

Could she put these two men together like that? How was it fair to be able to admit her feelings for him just because she found out he was the hunky guy who was always saving her? It probably wasn't fair at all, and that's probably what he was feeling right now.

She knew she should be thinking about telling the girls about his identity, she knew she should be looking up everything she could about his history, but she couldn't bring herself to do any of it. The girls were always wary of Tuxedo Kamen, but she had always known in her heart that he was good. Now that she knew he was Mamoru, she was absolutely certain that he had nothing but the best intentions. Sure, he had always teased her and made fun of her, but he had never done anything outright cruel. And Motoki seemed to like him well enough – Motoki was generally a good judge of character.

But what about the way he had looked at her? He had seemed so angry, so deeply disturbed by her confession that he couldn't bear to look at her. Would he ever even talk to him again? Would he tease her and call her silly nicknames? She looked out into the golden rays touching everything in the room, but still felt cold inside. She had gone and in a single night messed everything up. She crossed her arms over her legs and buried her head in them. She didn't know how she was going to get out of this one. She groaned and climbed out of bed, hoping a long shower would bring some warmth and some sense back into her.

doobeedoobeedoo

Mamoru stood in the shower, letting the warmth wash over his body. He had gone to sleep and woken up feeling cold and empty inside, and couldn't shake the feeling. He knew he should be a little alarmed that Usagi knew his identity, but for some reason he couldn't make himself feel that way. He was so utterly consumed with the look in her eyes as he had told her to leave that he couldn't bother with anything else at the moment.

Still, she knew and that was a liability. What if she told someone? Worse yet, what if she knew any of the Senshi and told them? He shook his head, sending water flying against the walls of the stall. He didn't want to think Usagi would betray him like that, but he hadn't exactly expected her to throw herself at him because she found out his identity. Well, he hadn't really expected her to find out his identity period; that was sort of a fluke. A huge, big, gigantic fluke.

He closed his eyes and turned his face up into the water, feeling it soothing the sore muscles around his face, neck and shoulders. What was he supposed to do now? Maybe he should pretend that it had never happened, but he didn't think he had it in him. He didn't think he could lie that well, even to himself. Especially to himself.

Usagi had looked at him with eyes he had never seen from her. Eyes filled with warmth, compassion, and maybe a few hints of caring and lo- er, deep, deep liking. For a brief moment, he thought he had inspired that in her all on his own. Which he kind of did, since he was Tuxedo Kamen, but he wouldn't have ever let her know that. Well, maybe about 20 years and 3 kids down the road. Not that he was thinking that far ahead. Or that he thought about Usagi quite like that.

He turned the shower off, his frown still fixed in place. Then again, she had been hit awfully hard last night. The paramedics had confirmed that she didn't have a concussion, but what if she just hadn't been in the right state of mind? There was a chance that she was just over exaggerating, or maybe she was just confused. Maybe at the time she just hadn't been able to separate the two? He sighed heavily as he grabbed for a towel. It wasn't like that really helped a whole lot.

Somewhere inside of him, there was still that small spark of hope that she just liked him for _him_, not because of a pretty cape and mask. He didn't know how to feel about all of it, he just ached inside. He had been so close to her, even if for a few moments, and it had lit his heart up in ways he had never felt. He remembered with great clarity the panic in his heart when he had found her on the floor in the museum, his need for her to be ok, his immense relief when she opened her eyes and looked up at him with bleary eyes. Now he was just so lost, and the next step was unclear. He threw on some clothes and decided to go for a jog to clear his head.

doobeedoobeedoo

Usagi walked along the school grounds, trying to think and not think at the same time. She needed to be figuring out what was going on, but she didn't want to contemplate any of it. At least, she didn't want to think about the Mamoru part. There were other concerns though – like the youma appearances. When the girls had come in the night before, they had been talking quietly about it (presumably to not wake up the not-asleep Usagi). Ami had mentioned worry over the fact that youma were showing up here, because it could lead the enemy to them.

_Just like it led Tuxedo Kamen to me_, she thought wistfully. Then she berated herself for bringing him into this. Most likely the enemy thought there was a good chance that at least one of the Sailor Senshi would be along on the trip, especially since some of them seemed fairly intelligent like Mercury. She laughed, not caring about the bitter taste in her mouth. It was a brilliant plan, or maybe a brilliant trap. Maybe they had all walked into it. What was innocent anymore? She sighed.

How fortunate and unfortunate it was that they all had come. Her, all the girls, and Mamoru. The enemy could now at least say that one guy and one girl from the few who came were Tuxedo Kamen and Sailor Moon. Thank heavens the girls hadn't had an opportunity to transform yet, or they would have had a lot more trouble. Five Sailor Senshi, a group of five girls who were very close and who all happened to be on this trip? It wouldn't take long. She just had to make sure if there were any more attacks that she dealt with them as swiftly as possible. The other Senshi wouldn't hold back if they thought she needed help, and they couldn't afford that right now.

Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the sudden rumbling of the ground beneath her. She hesitated a moment, took a step back, and screamed when a youma shot out of the ground directly in front of her.

The youma seemed to have a nature theme going on – it was solid brown in the middle and looked like it was covered in bark. It had long, slender green legs and arms, and flowing green hair with flowers entwined in it. For a brief moment, Usagi thought she almost could have been pretty. Then one of her arms turned into a mass of waving tentacle-like vines and her eyes turned a hideous shade of red as she attacked.

Usagi was slammed into a wall, vines pinning her up so her feet dangled above the ground and twisting around her throat so she could barely breathe. She couldn't reach her locket, couldn't cry out, couldn't even fight back. Spots began to dance before her eyes as she struggled for breath. A thought flicked through her mind, skittered across the very edge of her consciousness. _So this is how it all ends._

The youma screamed in pain, and Usagi felt herself slump to the ground. She fell forward on her hands and knees, coughing violently. She looked up in time to see Mamoru squaring off with the youma, and felt panic rising inside of her as questions flew through her mind. Why hadn't he transformed? And why on Earth was he attacking that youma? What was the youma even doing in a deserted place like this anyways? She shook off her doubts and jumped to her feet, running to help Mamoru.

A razor-sharp vine was coming at him from the side, and he didn't seem to notice it. She threw herself at him, knocking him out of the way just in time. A grunt escaped his mouth as for the second time in as many days she landed on top of him, her body spread out on top of his. He barely had time to register it as she smiled weakly at him, bruises forming around her throat.

"You shouldn't have saved me, baka. You're just going to get yourself killed." He couldn't help but smile up at her. Then he saw the needles headed for the center of her back. He gripped her tightly and rolled hard to his left, crushing her with his own body but saving her life at the same time. He quickly stood up and dragged her with him, stunned as she was, and holding her closely to his front. They didn't have time to be pleasant or to talk about what had happened. The youma was definitely still there, and unfortunately hadn't had a change of heart about the whole "mass murder" thing. Well, if you can consider two people "mass". But the murder part was definitely there.

Usagi pushed away form Mamoru, trying to give the youma two targets instead of one, but she wasn't fast enough. A vine sliced into her arm, and Mamoru tried to push her back behind him again as she cried out. Instead he only managed to stall while the youma lunged at him, her arms having turned into sharp wooden sword-like objects. Mamoru looked up as Usagi screamed, but he knew it was too late. He wouldn't be able to move and save her, so he decided to push her out of the way instead. Until _she_ jumped in front of him, that is. Blood roared in his ears, and she screamed something out in the face of the youma, but he was all but deaf as bile rose up in his throat. What was she _doing_?

A brilliant flash of light blinded him, burning deep into his retinas. He could barely make out the image of Usagi standing defiantly against the youma, it flinching back away from her and…disintegrating? He blinked, trying to clear his vision. Yup, that was surely a pile of dust now blowing away in the wind where the youma had been before. Usagi turned around and smiled at him, and he nearly had a heart attack.

Where Usagi had been, Sailor Moon was standing. She looked tired, beaten, and about to collapse. She wavered for a moment, and then he rushed forward and caught her as she started to fall over. He gently picked her up as she phased back into Usagi. No brilliant flash this time, just a soft glow and a sound almost like a sigh, and she was Usagi again. With as much care as he could, he carried her back to the girls' dorms, hoping one of the female teachers was already awake.

doobeedoobeedoo

Usagi floated in and out of consciousness. She remembered paramedics, again, though she wasn't sure why. Her throat was hurting, maybe that was it. Mamoru's voice had wafted over to her at a few different points, but she wasn't sure why or who he was talking to. Was that one of the teachers talking now? Maybe the two of them were talking, she wasn't sure. There was a constant buzzing in the back of her head, separating her from the deep sleep she wanted and the awareness she probably needed. She wasn't quite sure how to go about anything at the moment. Her throat was really hurting, and that sent little bells ringing in her mind. Hadn't there been something important?

Her eyes snapped open and she bolted upright, eyes searching everywhere. Where had the youma gone? She struggled to get up to find it; she had to find it she _had_ to before anyone else got hurt. Something was holding her back and she felt like she was drowning, flailing about in the water in a deep ocean miles from shore. She cried out, and suddenly she realized that there were strong arms around her, holding her and preventing her from standing, and a soothing voice was murmuring in her ear.

"Don't worry, Usagi. It's all over, there's nothing to worry about, just calm down, ok?" Mamoru. He was holding her, and she had been flailing at him with her arms and legs but he had held on to keep her from hurting herself any more. She laid back, a little startled. She stared up at him as he readjusted the blanket that had fallen to her waist when she had sat up. When she spoke, it was a deep, throaty croak that barely sounded like her at all.

"What's going on?" He looked down at her for the first time, looking into her eyes. She noticed that the sun was well on its way to peak, long past when they should have left with everyone else. Confusion clouded her eyes.

"We're in the lounge area. They brought a couch over for you so I could sit and watch you without us being in a room together." He got up and grabbed a warm cup of tea off a nearby table and brought it back over to her. "The other students have gone, of course, but someone had to stay here with you. The other injured students have someone else looking after them but they wanted someone to be able to watch over just you." He made a motion to hold the cup for her while she drank it but she waved him off and grabbed the cup, sitting up slowly and carefully as he sat down beside her on the couch. Her eyes flicked briefly to the chair he had obviously been occupying next to her, some novel in English draped across one arm.

"What about the youma? And why did they leave you in charge of me?" He smiled faintly.

"Well, part of it is by my request. I didn't want to leave you with someone strange or someone who can't protect you if something else unfortunate were to happen. As for the youma, how much do you remember of what happened?" She sipped at the tea which was thankfully not incredibly hot, just warm enough to soothe some of the ache in her throat.

"Not a whole lot. I remember the youma, I remember it choking me." She reached up to her throat where dark, ugly bruises had already formed and tears threatened to fall. Her voice came out in a harsh whisper. "I thought I was going to die. I really thought that was it for me." She looked up at him, and his eyes were filled with concern. He smoothed her hair back gently.

"We think it was probably waiting to see if there were any students out by themselves. A group of students is a panic, but a lone student could possibly provide some information." His eyes flicked to her throat for a minute, the muscles around his mouth and eyes tightening in anger. "Not that it was a particularly bright youma. Any longer and she either would have choked you to death or crushed your windpipe." He saw tears leaking down her face and his expression softened. _That was probably the wrong thing to say. _"Please don't cry, Usagi. You're ok now." She nodded, sniffling a little and wiping at the tears with the edge of the blanket.

"I know, it was just so scary. So many times I've come close to dying or getting seriously injured, but never like that. I've never just had all the control taken away, never been so helpless I couldn't even move. It was horrible." A hand gently covered hers and she looked up to see Mamoru smiling at her.

"Well it was a good thing you had such a dashing hero there to save you once again. Otherwise you would have been toast!" Oh. She had forgotten about that last part, the part when she transformed. Now he knew who she was too. Where were they supposed to go from here? What would they do now? She wasn't sure to act, when suddenly a thought crossed her mind and she looked up at him, defiance in her face.

"Excuse me? If it wasn't for _me_ you'd be a Mamo-burger right about now!" He grinned that grin of his before rolling his eyes.

"If I hadn't shown up you wouldn't have had the chance, Odango." She stuck her tongue out at him.

"I had it perfectly under control! In fact, I was about to transform and dust her right when you got there! I was doing just fine, thank you." He laughed.

"Rrrrriiiight. You looked just like a little kitten up there, helpless when mommy picked you up by the scruff of your neck."

"Oh it was all a part of my master plan! You see, once the youma got a hold of me I was going to transform and kick some major butt." She paused for a moment. "Even kittens have claws, jerk!" He laughed and laughed, laughing until tears rolled down his face. She looked so cute there, all defiant with a cup of tea in her hand, curled up on a couch under a big fluffy blanket. Usagi blinked, then giggled along with him. She probably did look pretty silly.

After he calmed down a little he reached over and ruffled her hair, making her stick her tongue out at him again, which made him smile. _That's the Usagi I missed so much last night,_ he thought. A sudden pang of guilt hit him.

"Usagi." Suddenly he was all serious again, his voice full of sadness. Usagi looked up at him, concern in her eyes. For a few moments they had been themselves again, before all this had happened. Yet here he was again, back to business she assumed.

"Yes, Mamoru?"

"I just wanted to say how sorry I am about last night." Now she felt surprised. Apologies weren't easy to come by from him. "I pushed you away and didn't stop to think about how you were feeling. Now I see more of the picture, and I guess I can kind of understand how you were feeling." He sighed. "I just couldn't believe how much you had changed your opinion of me, and I felt like it was because of a mask I wear, not me. And I wanted it to be because of me; I wanted that so much." She looked up at him, questions filling her eyes.

"You wanted me to like you because of you?" He nodded solemnly.

"Better than wanting my car, right?" She blinked, then burst out into giggles. A joke wasn't really what she had expected just then. After the giggles subsided she looked up into his serious blue eyes and smiled a little.

"I'm glad you can understand now. I should have stopped to explain, and I probably should have just told you who I was." She paused as he was already shaking his head.

"You only found out about me because of my carelessness, you had no reason to reveal yourself to me. Now we're both a liability for each other. I'm sure the other Senshi won't be too happy about that."

"I haven't told them yet." She spoke softly, and he looked at her with a puzzled expression. _She hasn't told them yet? Does that mean that they're here for her to tell?_ Realization dawned. She saw his eyes widen and nodded. _Five girls that look incredibly like the Senshi – why didn't I see it before?_ He chuckled inwardly. It was probably for the same reason that Usagi had never figured out who he was. There was probably some mystical aura protecting them from such things. She chewed on her bottom lip. "I don't know if I should tell them or not. This just changes everything so much." He shrugged.

"Sooner or later, they'll find out whether or not _we_ tell them." She looked up into his eyes again. "I'm not going to let you do it alone, this or any of it. Now that we know each other's identities, you can't possibly think I'm going to let you work alone anymore. You could get hurt." His eyes flicked to her neck again and she winced. Doubt filled her for a moment.

"Why is it that you never stick around, anyways? Luna's all but convinced you're with the enemy." He looked at her strangely. Surely she didn't think that now, not after knowing who he was and the time they had spent together. Granted, the time they had spent together usually involved his verbal torture of her, but it was all in friendship-ish.

"Well, there would have been questions. Questions I couldn't answer, questions I probably still can't answer. Besides, it's not like I know exactly what to say after I've scooped up my dream girl from near-death." He stopped, and Usagi saw some familiar expressions that were _very, very _odd on Mamoru. For one thing, his eyes grew wide in shock. For another, he blushed like a little school girl who's gotten her first present from a boy. Which makes for some funny images.

Usagi blinked, not quite sure what to say as Mamoru began to stutter. Mamoru stuttered. A lot. At first quite shocked and then a little flattered, now Usagi's mouth was curving up in a wicked grin. Mamoru saw the grin building on her face, and hid his red face in his hands. It was coming, there was nothing he could do to stop it, so he might as well just let her get on with it. He sat that way for awhile, waiting for the oncoming storm, until he felt a hand tentatively squeeze his shoulder. He looked up at a gently smiling Usagi, not a wicked Usagi who would tease him to the end of his life, the end of the world, and probably well past the end of the universe.

"You probably don't realize just how bad I want to tease you for that," he winced, "but I can't honestly say I never felt the same about my dashing savior. Tuxedo Kamen's always had one of those fuzzy places." She reached back and touched her hand briefly over her heart and he smiled a little. An awkward silence followed. Usagi cleared her throat, and Mamoru looked up.

"So what now? I mean, what are we supposed to do, how are we supposed to act?" Mamoru shook his head.

"I don't know. I guess it depends on what you tell the Senshi."

"I'm not going to tell them for right now, I think. I think we've both got a lot to deal with, and I don't think I could handle them acting strangely. Which I guess means we should just be ourselves, act how we always have. It would just be weird if we were any different." Mamoru nodded slowly. His eyes got a faraway look for a moment, but returned to here and now when he saw Usagi yawning.

"You need to sleep. You got banged up pretty badly. The paramedics said you'll be fine, and you should actually be ok to go out tomorrow. You just need to rest for now."

Usagi nodded, yawning again, and laid back as he stood to make room for her. Almost instantly she began snoring, and Mamoru chuckled. He reached out and brushed away a stray piece of hair from her face, smiling as she sighed a little in her sleep. On impulse he leaned over and gave her a little peck on the cheek before returning to his chair, and her lips curved up into a smile.


	7. Day 5: Showtime

**A/N:** So, I really am alive, and I have really missed writing. I feel so, so bad for all of your readers, but I vow to finish this story within these next two months, unless for some reason I decide to continue it with a sequel. But at least this part of this story, this whole little America visit, will be finished soon. I hope you enjoy this, and I apologize deeply for my absence. I'm here, I'm alive, and I'm writing. This chapter is much more serious and a little graphic, but it will lighten up again I promise! Please let me know what you think!

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**Disclaimer**: Don't own the people, just the story and my own interpretations.

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**Day 5: Showtime**

Usagi slept for most of that day. Around the time everyone was coming back she had woken up and returned to her room so she wouldn't be a spectacle in the lobby. Mamoru had quietly slipped back to his own dormitory and Usagi fended off questions from the girls when they got back, saying she needed more rest. Her dreams that night had been troubled, and she awoke with a deep sense of foreboding.

Today they would be going to a local planetarium to see a star show and a short American documentary before lunch. Usagi's stomach was twisted into knots as they shuffled out of their rooms and got ready to load onto the busses. Mina and Makoto were busy horsing around with Ami trying to mediate, but it didn't get past Rei. She leaned over to Usagi as they walked and whispered into her ear.

"Usagi-chan, what's wrong?" Usagi turned toward her to allow her to step up beside her so they could walk together. After all, who better to talk to about bad dreams than Rei?

"Well, I'm just worried because I had a lot of bad dreams last night. I can really only remember bits and pieces, but they weren't good. Most of them had to do with me fighting youma alone, and losing." Rei nodded gravely as her friend spoke.

"It sounds like bad premonitions. I can feel it in the wind, something's not right here. I guess we'll just have to be on our toes today, as well as for the rest of the trip. At least we're all here, instead of just one of us, or even none of us."

At this Usagi slowed down, listening carefully to her friend's words. She tugged gently on her sleeve to get the priestess to slow down so the others could catch up. They all stopped horsing around at the serious look on Usagi's face, and she spoke in low, husky tones.

"Guys, there's something I didn't tell you last night. I transformed when that youma attacked me, so now the enemy might know who I am." The girls all looked at each other, but it was Mina who spoke first.

"How could they possibly know? I thought the youma was destroyed, so wouldn't that mean he couldn't have reported back?" Ami was shaking her head already.

"We've seen the generals hanging out in the background before. This is obviously a scouting mission, and we can't afford the luxury of thinking they're not watching to see if any senshi appear." Usagi nodded as Ami continued. "I think if they did know, thought, they would have come after Usagi immediately. I don't feel it's really a big concern. The really important question Usagi, is did Mamoru see you transform?"

"Um…well…the thing is…heh," Usagi stumbled through her words and Rei rolled her eyes.

"Of course he did, Usagi-baka can't do anything without messing up. You should really wait until we're there to help out to do stupid stuff!" Makoto gave Rei a friendly punch in the arm as Usagi teared up for one of her typical crying fests.

"Hey Rei back off, it's not like she planned on getting attacked. Besides, Mamoru knowing isn't such a big deal." Mina's eyebrows shot up at that. "I mean, he may be a jerk to Usagi but he's generally a good guy. I don't think he'll tell anyone." Everyone had become serious once again, and Usagi nodded. She caught a glimpse of raven-colored hair getting onto her bus, and blue eyes caught hers. Breathing stopped for a moment, but he was swept up onto the bus before she could react. The look didn't go unnoticed by Minako, at least, and she grinned at Usagi and wiggled her eyebrows suggestively as they loaded on the bus. Usagi shook her head furiously and blushed, trying to ignore the other blonde's giggles.

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Mamoru watched as Usagi and her friends loaded onto the same bus he was on, his hands balling into fists at the sight of the bruises around Usagi's neck. He was still surprised to learn the identities of the other senshi, but nothing could overshadow his feelings about Usagi's ordeal. He should have been there for her before she got hurt so badly, he should have been able to do something to prevent this from happening at all. He sighed as they sat down and the bus got ready to leave. He looked out the window, trying to sort out his thoughts.

He felt somewhat torn now, and he knew this must have been how Usagi had felt the day before after she had found out his identity. He had cared for her a lot as Sailor Moon, but he had constantly fought with her as Usagi. He wasn't quite sure where that put him, but he felt they were on an upswing, at least. He shook his head, trying to rid himself of these thoughts.

Sleep hadn't come to him last night. Maybe he had been anticipating a youma strike, because it was all he dreamt about when he did sleep. He had seen youma attacking over and over, and Sailor Moon was fighting them. He had been trapped, forced to watch her fight but unable to help, and he saw her fall again and again in his dreams. He had cried out to her, but she hadn't heard him, and he had fought against his prison but nothing had worked, and he had simply watched her die, helpless to the viciousness of the youma attacking her.

Suddenly he was overcome by the sensation of being watched, and he looked up to see two blue eyes peering at him in front of a large red bow. It was one of Usagi's friends. Sailor Venus, he imagined with that big bow of hers. Mina smiled coyly at him, giggling as she turned away. What was that all about? He frowned again, hoping the day would be over quickly.

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Usagi sat in the planetarium, her face pointed upward by the handy reclining seats. She hadn't got to sit next to Mamoru, which in a weird way she had almost wanted, almost expected. It felt weird to suddenly want to be near someone you had always wanted to be away from. Then again, she had always wanted to be close to him too, but a different version of him, one she hadn't known _was_ him. She grunted in frustration. This was going to take a lot of sorting out.

She peered over at him, a row in front of her and a few seats down, and saw him looking at her out of the corner of his eyes. Heat crept across her face and she jerked her eyes up to the screen again, trying to ignore the feeling settling in her stomach that he was watching her still. It was awkward, like someone listening in while you sung in the shower or in your car. She tried to focus on the show they were currently running about distant constellations, but it was so hard. That sinking feeling in her stomach was growing worse, and she could practically feel the concern coming from his direction, as if he could tell what she was feeling.

The shows at the planetarium passed without event, and Usagi's fears quieted a little. If youma had decided to attack today, they certainly would have attacked during the shows, since there were so many people clustered together in such a small area. Her tension eased even more when they left the lobby and were loading onto the busses. As they pulled away from the planetarium, relief started to sink in, despite the twisting feeling in her stomach. Sinking back against the seat she let go of a long, deep breath and felt a little better. That's about the time the busses were attacked.

Something slammed into the bus, and people started screaming. Usagi looked around frantically and saw it wasn't just their bus, but all of the busses were being hit by blasts of energy that seemed to come from nowhere. Students were struggling to get off of the busses and flee to the safety of buildings but congestion of cars and people in the streets were hampering their efforts. She was fighting to get out of her seat, fighting to get out and go help people when she realized a few pairs of arms were holding her back and Mina was hissing in her ear.

"Usagi-chan, you can't go out there!"

"I've got to! Someone has to help those people!"

"You can't! We don't know what's going on yet and you could be walking into a trap!" Usagi struggled to get away from the girls, but they held her fast. Then she spied a familiar face ducking behind a fence and stopped, her heart pounding. Her voice came out in a whisper.

"He's not really going to…" When she trailed off the girls looked at her. Ami spoke up first.

"Who's not going to do what, Usagi?" Usagi watched that direction intently, not answering, and when she felt that familiar pull deep in her gut and saw that familiar face hidden behind that familiar mask she struggled even harder. Makoto and Ami turned to see what she was staring at while Rei and Mina fought to keep her down.

"We can't let him go! We can't let him do this!" Makoto gasped.

"It's Tuxedo Kamen! I guess he's come to help the people out!" Ami shook her head.

"It's probably as much a trap for him as it is for us. We should do something." Ami turned back towards Usagi, and the determined look on her face was a little scary. "Usagi-chan? What is it?"

"I can't stand by and watch him get hurt for me." The girls let go and backed away as Usagi transformed, careful to block all window views of the bus. There was no stopping her now.

Sailor Moon sprung into action, leaping out of the bus and sprinting towards Tuxedo Kamen, who was struggling with a brilliantly-lit youma. He was dodging around as it fired energy blasts at him, causing them to slam into the now-empty busses. The youma seemed to match his moves as he dodged in and lashed out with his cane. Sailor Moon tore her tiara from her brow and threw it with all her might at the youma, who never saw it coming.

Over the glittering dust that swirled in the wind, Tuxedo Kamen looked up to see Sailor Moon carefully replacing her tiara from a short distance away. He felt moved, seeing her there, hair trialing in the wind and fixing her tiara in place. His feet began taking him towards her, when suddenly he saw something looming up out of the darkness behind her. Horror filled him, and he raced towards her while screaming at her to move.

"Sailor Moon! Look out!" She whirled around to see a youma coming from behind her from the shadows of one bus, its sword-like arms darting forward towards her throat. She didn't even have time to start screaming, she just felt something heavy hit her and send her flying. A terrible pain formed in her chest and she thought she cried out as she hit the ground, and she could see her friends rushing towards her, concern on their faces. _At least they haven't transformed, thank goodness for that_.

Her head was spinning, and for a moment she didn't realize she was pinned to the ground by something. Rei and Makoto hefted it off of her, and Ami helped elevate her a little. Mina was over doing something with Rei and Mako, but she wasn't sure what. Ami and Mina both gasped loudly, but since she couldn't see Mina very well, she looked at Ami, who was staring at her. Following her gaze, she looked down to see her uniform splattered with blood.

Ami hurriedly checked her over, but Usagi was shaking her head…that pain she had felt hadn't been that, it hadn't been that kind of pain. Once Ami was sure she wasn't hurt, she helped her sit up so she could see what was going on. She immediately cried out, and against her blue-haired companion's protests she crawled over towards where the other girls were kneeling.

Tuxedo Kamen lay on his back, not moving. Blood was soaking through his glorious tuxedo, and his face was horribly pale. His lips were parted, as if he was trying to say something before he had become frozen in time. Sailor Moon peeled back his jacket and was greeted with an upwelling of blood, seeping out of his shirt and down his sides. Shock started to set in, as the girls had been in plenty of fights and had plenty of cuts, but nothing like this. It was all so real, yet it felt like it was happening on another world, in another time.

The girls could do nothing but watch as Sailor Moon tore off a piece of her skirt and tried to compress the wounds, sobs escaping from her. Her body shook, and she looked so frail, putting all her weight on the wounds as she tried frantically to bring him back. She was calling his name over and over, never noticing the surprise on the girls' faces. She couldn't let him die, not like this, not when he had saved her life so many times.

After a few minutes filled only with Usagi's distress, Ami placed a hand on her arm with a deep tenderness. Mina, Rei, and Makoto followed suit, crowding around their leader, giving the only comfort they could. None of them knew what had passed between Usagi and Mamoru, they only knew it was something, but they seemed to understand. They leaned in close to hug her, and then the tears began to fall. Sailor Moon cried, her grief exploding outward from her, and the tears covered her face and dripped onto her blood-soaked gloves.

Suddenly, a burst of light spilled forth, nearly blinding everyone close to Usagi. The girls backed away a little as golden light poured from Usagi's hands, surrounding her and Tuxedo Kamen completely. The light was almost too bright to see what was happening, but when the brilliant light passed, Sailor Moon was still kneeling there, but she held in her hands a strange wand, one that was topped by a golden crescent moon. It looked as though there was a socket for something, but it was currently empty. She clutched the wand desperately with both hands, and nodded slowly. The girls all looked at each other, and she sighed, tears still slipping from her closed eyes. Slowly they opened, and she looked down at Tuxedo Kamen's still form.

"I know what I have to do." With the wand held high, she called something out and more golden light filled their vision. When it too was gone, Sailor Moon was leaning over Tuxedo Kamen anxiously, her face drawn tightly, but she was no longer crying. Strain was showing around her eyes, but she had stopped shaking.

Usagi's stomach was twisting as she peered down at Mamoru's still form. She wasn't sure what had happened, but the blood had stopped and she could see smooth skin where deep gashes had been before. His eyes were still closed, and it looked like he still wasn't breathing. She was holding her own breath, waiting and hoping. Suddenly she felt like she was going to be sick to her stomach. Just as she began to turn her head, movement caught her eye. His eyes fluttered open, and he took in a deep breath, gasping for air as he stared up at the sky.

With what seemed agonizing slowness, he turned his head and his deep blue eyes met her lighter ones from behind his mask. There was a moment where everything was quiet and still, and then he smiled, and another sob escaped her. She was reaching towards him when he spoke in a soft, croaking voice.

"Jeez Odango, make me die for you, why don't you." For a moment she stared at him in shock, and that smirk crossed his face, that smirk that had gotten under her skin every time she saw it. So she punched him.

He reeled back a little as her fist connected with his jaw. It wasn't a girly punch either – she put her weight into it, and he was seeing stars when his vision actually cleared. She was kneeling over him, her face livid with anger and surprise, her cheeks flushed a brilliant red. He smiled up at her, and suddenly she threw herself at him, tears soaking the upper part of his tuxedo.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to hit you and you shouldn't have tried to save me and I didn't mean for you to get hurt!" Most of it was lost in her sobbing, but he got most of it. He placed a hand awkwardly on her back, looking around from his place on the ground, and seeing classmates slowly starting to emerge from behind the twisted wrecks of the busses, fright evident on their faces. He murmured to her as she cried.

"Um, I think we should get out of here. We have an audience, and this won't exactly be good for them to see, especially since we'll need to transform back." Her face was still streaked with tears when she looked up. Glancing around, she nodded and sat back up so he could get up. She helped him stand and he grunted as his abdomen was jarred as he stood up. Underneath his arm he could feel her flinch back and he held fast to her. She looked up at him, apologies filling her eyes, and together they leapt away from the crowds, and away from four very surprised girls who still sat on the pavement below.

* * *

They stood on top of a building not too far away, facing each other without speaking. They watched each other, examining the remains of what had turned out to be their worst and possibly shortest battle ever. His jacket and shirt were in bloody ruins, and she had torn away much of the fabric of her already short skirt. Uncomfortable silence stretched out between them, with Sailor Moon looking off to the side and anxiously shifting around on her feet as Tuxedo Kamen blatantly stared at her. Finally she spoke, her eyes down and her voice soft and husky.

"Thank you, for saving my life." He chuckled, even though it caused aching pains to shoot up from his chest.

"It's not like I don't owe you the same gratitude. Then again, I guess you kind of owed that last one to me." Her head rose up sharply, hurt and anger in her eyes until she saw that merry twinkle in his. He waved away her protests before they could start. "Don't worry, Odango. I'll let you live it down, someday." She rolled her eyes.

"Hey I didn't just save your butt I brought you back from the dead, so bite me." He threw his head back and laughed, which irritated her to no end until her doubled over, grunting in pain. She started forward a little; concern etched into her face before she realized he was ok and just stood there, her arms crossed over her chest. "Serves you right, you big oaf. You should have learned not to play with knives when you were a kid."

"Why do you think I use a cane? It's not like I'm some knife-wielding psycho."

"Why that's so true, you don't wield a knife, psycho." He grinned at her again, and she wasn't sorry to see the first hints of a bruise forming on his jaw. "You know, I think I'm going to have to tell Motoki you got beat up by a girl." His jaw dropped.

"What?? I didn't get beaten up at all, you sucker punched me!"

"Pfft you wish dorko. It's not like you're a defenseless kitten, you just let yourself be beaten up by any girl who incidentally saves your life." His face was turning red now. She kind of liked having the tables turned for once. So she smirked at him.

"Hey now I was saving _your_ life if I remember correctly! So don't get all high and mighty with me just because you have some sparkly glow effects and a toy wand." She smiled a little at him, but it faded away quickly. When he looked at her, his indignation faded and she again spoke softly to him.

"We need to talk about this. Honestly talk, not just keep poking at each other until we break our fingers." A sad smile crossed his face, but he shook his head.

"Not now. I think…I think we have to let the wounds heal a little, I don't think we're ready to sort it out." Protests sprang to the tip of her tongue but he held up a hand to quiet her. "Look, your friends are probably very worried about you, and it's going to look suspicious if we're not there when they start making sure all the students are accounted for. We need to slip back for now, and we can talk about it later. I'm sure we'll be headed home a little early."

She nodded slowly, understanding that maybe some time to reflect would be good. Not that she was particularly looking forward to the interrogation by her senshi, about any of it. They hopped down together in an alley and de-transformed into their normal selves. Thankfully Mamoru's normal clothes were fine, as were hers. They rushed back to the scene of the accident where teachers and officials were gathering up the shaken students, and quietly slipped in among them. Several meaningful looks were given to her by a particular group of girls, but she didn't approach them for now. Everything would be sorted out with time.

* * *

**A/N:** Did you like? If so please review, and feel free to beat me up for takingso long. Even if you didn't like, please review and let me know what you didn't like about it!


	8. Day 6: Homecomings

**A/N:** Finally back to updating this. I feel like doing the drabble challenge did me a world of good. I'm currently planning a story that will contain one-shots featuring individual senshi, maybe even other characters, but I want to wrap this story up before I do that :) It's coming to a close soon, though maybe I'll write a sequel or some such. Thank you to everyone who has stuck out through the stormy weather. Classes start up again next week, but I'll try my best to keep updating as soon as possible!

Serenity-hime

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**Day 6: Homecoming**

The next day, once all injured students were cared for, the students were taken to the airport to be sent home. They still had another day planned in America, but the faculty that were on the trip were concerned for the safety of their students, as the youma attacks seemed to be escalating and targeting the students particularly. Worry was everywhere – a couple students even claimed that Tuxedo Kamen had been injured fighting a youma, but it was all second- or third-hand information. Nobody seemed to have seen anything, but everyone was on edge.

The airport was busy and many people were rushing around, trying to make their flights or pick up loved ones. The students waited impatiently to board their planes, everyone laughing nervously and looking around for any signs of trouble. The boarding was uneventful, however, and everyone sighed deeply with relief once they were finally aboard.

Usagi sat in her seat next to the ever-quiet Ami, lost in thought about everything that had happened. Her perspective had changed a lot since they had first gotten aboard that plane to come here. First her perceptions of the enemy, how they knew now that she was a student at one of these schools, one of not that many students in the first place. Now she had to think about Mamoru, and Tuxedo Kamen, and how they were the same, and how that made her feel. Then there were the girls.

Last night the girls had crowded in her and Ami's room, and though they didn't grill her with questions like they thought she would, the talk was fierce. Ami was concerned about the ramifications of the enemy knowing the two of them were here, and the possibility that Mamoru was working with them. Rei said that they didn't really have any grounds to shut him out, because he had always helped them. Minako, despite her previous desire to get the two together, said they couldn't trust him until they sorted everything out. Sadness filled her eyes as she spoke, and she saw how hurt Usagi looked, even though she wasn't looking at any of them. She had seen that look, and it made her feel terrible to see it in Usagi's eyes.

Makoto had declared that she trusted Usagi's judgment and would follow her wherever, and put her faith in whoever Usagi believed in. That had touched her deeply and she felt at peace knowing at least Mako trusted her enough to follow her lead. After that the girls had settled down and talked quietly, trying to avoid the subject altogether if possible. Usagi had kept quiet throughout most of it, only really speaking up when they had asked about the wand that had appeared.

"I don't know where it came from," she had said, "but I feel like it's right. I was so upset, and I just reached deep down within myself to find a way to make everything better. I know it sounds dumb, but I feel like it was there all along, waiting for me to find it, waiting until I had the need for it so badly that I let go of my fright and self-consciousness." The girls had all stared at her, seemingly shocked at the wisdom in her words. Finally Minako had spoken.

"Well, it makes sense for you to have it if you're the leader, after all. Hopefully we can use the wand to avoid any more collateral damage in fights." They had all agreed, and after some more light-hearted banter they had all dispersed and gone to bed. They hadn't had a chance to talk today, and Usagi had mostly been somber and quiet for the entire morning.

Ami had been sitting patiently with Usagi on the plane, waiting for her to be ready to talk. She had been given another offer to sit with one of her teachers, but she had politely declined as she didn't feel it was appropriate to leave Usagi alone right now. It seemed as though she felt responsible for the attacks and the injured students, and most especially for Mamoru's incident. Ami was unwilling to call what had happened a miracle just yet. She looked up to see a familiar face heading their way, and suddenly felt she should sit with her professor after all. She turned to her companion.

"Usagi, I have an offer to sit with one of my teachers. I'm sure you'll be just fine, but if you need me just give me a call and I'll come right back." She patted her hand gently, picked up her bag, and scooted past her. There was a look of surprise in Usagi's eyes, as if Ami leaving was the last thing she had expected, but said nothing. _You'll understand, Usagi._ Ami smiled before she disappeared.

Usagi's surprise at her friend's sudden disappearing act turned easily into understanding, and then into something altogether different. When she saw who was coming she sighed, realizing she had once again been set up by her blue-haired friend. Honestly, she was worse than Minako sometimes. Her biggest concern was trying not to blush when Mamoru put his bag into the overhead bin and squeezed past her to sit in the window seat. He gestured towards the aisle seat.

"Go ahead and scoot over. I know you don't like the window seat and I'm sure we're not ready to willingly share the same air space." She stuck her tongue out at him and moved over to the aisle seat. He smiled faintly and cracked open his book while she sat and twiddled her thumbs as other passengers boarded the plane.

Glances from the corners of eyes ensued, as well as careful ignoring and studious paying attention to backs of seats and words in books. Of course there was no reading going on and nobody was being fooled but the ritual had to go on anyways. She twirled the end of her hair, he cleared his throat, she memorized the patterns on the seat in front of her, he memorized the same words over and over, she looked around at anyone but him, and he fiddled with the shade. Neither spoke for what seemed a very long time, until finally the plane took off and they were once again trapped for hours together in a very small space. At least this time she hadn't crawled into his lap.

Finally, after clearing his throat for what seemed the billionth time, he put his book away without having ever turned any pages. He turned to her, and she was already peering anxiously in his direction. When she saw him looking at her, she cast her eyes downward and a blush crept across her cheeks. He chuckled.

"So are we going to talk or are we just going to sit here and be bashful?" She blushed even more, but she met his gaze now. And rather than an embarrassed blush, it was more defiant, and he was glad. If she was ashamed or embarrassed every time she was around him things would never be normal again. He shook his head. "I think we're going to talk, despite the fact that I'll most likely have to drag it out of you the whole time." She rolled her eyes.

"I'll talk when I feel like it."

"The heavens only know when that will be. You women and your emotions." She looked up sharply, and there he was, grinning at her as usual. It actually made her feel a little better to be poked at. She stuck her tongue out at him, as usual.

"It's better than having the personality of a rock." He smiled this time, a genuine smile, and she felt compelled to smile back. When they started out again, the conversation and its tone was more serious. Mamoru, knowing it would be hard for Usagi, began it.

"Usagi, I want you to know that you don't need to apologize for what happened yesterday. I did what I did because I wanted to, not because you forced me to or because you did something wrong. In fact, you probably saved me by taking as swift of action as you did."

"But I should have done more! I shouldn't have put myself in that position, it was obviously a trap and they _knew_ we would walk right into it-" He held up a hand to cut her off, gesturing around them. He leaned towards her so he could whisper without being heard.

"We need to be as generic as possible here. There are people here who may have actually witnessed what happened yesterday." He leaned back, and she nodded slowly, but that desperately apologetic look still filled her eyes, and he hated that.

"I'm just so, so sorry."

"Please don't apologize. I won't forgive you, because there's nothing to forgive. If anything I'm sorry for putting you in that situation and making you deal with something so complicated. I'm sorry." Before he was finished she was already shaking her head, but before she could speak he continued. "Look, we both feel we need to apologize for what happened, but we're both ok and that's what matters. I'll stop apologizing if you will." Those deep blue eyes of hers still looked like they wanted to offer him the world for what she felt were her mistakes, but she agreed with him quietly.

Just then a flight attendant came by with drinks. Usagi looked over in surprise to see the same flight attendant who had harassed her on the flight to America and groaned inwardly. Instantly the fake smile was plastered all over her face, and she looked like she was going to crack. Fortunately she didn't mention the incident, but she was very careful to hand Mamoru's coffee to him first, and not let Usagi handle it. When she had moved on, Mamoru burst into laughter, which surprised Usagi. It wasn't often that she heard such good-natured laughter from him. Usually it was the taunting, drilling laughter that was directed at her, and she couldn't stand that. She liked this much better.

"The look on her face! I mean what are the odds we'd have the same flight attendant in the same week when we're sitting with each other?" He chuckled a little, happy to see her joining in.

"I thought her smile was just going to split her face in two and the other flight attendants would have to put her face back together."

"At least this time you were climbing all over me just to get rid of me, I don't think she's going to forget that one for along time." They both laughed for a minute, but it died away quickly and an uncomfortable silence fell and once again they were reduced to fidgeting as they were unsure of how to speak with each other. A tension was building between them, one that neither knew how to handle. They sipped delicately at their drinks and each waited for the other to say something. It was her turn to step up to bat.

"So where do we go from here?" Mamoru sighed, setting his coffee down on the tray in front of him.

"That's really the question of the day, isn't it? I think we need to talk about where we stand."

"I don't think you're the enemy." He quirked an eyebrow and she blushed. "I mean, before we…um…knew you, the others thought you might be the bad guy. I didn't ever, really," she added. He nodded.

"I think I can understand. It's not like I really trusted you guys completely either. I mean, I know I have my stuff to do and I know you guys have your stuff to do. Someday those might conflict, no matter how much we hope it doesn't." Usagi frowned a little, her eyes almost pleading.

"I don't ever want to fight you, not for anything. Surely we can work around any differences that may come up?" He sighed, running a hand through his hair and looking away for a moment before answering.

"Somehow I don't think either of us can promise that." He could see the tears already starting to form and reached a tentative hand over to grasp hers. "I can promise that I will try my hardest. I can't see how we could possibly get through this if we don't try."

A warm smile spread across Usagi's face, and her heart felt a million times lighter. He smiled back at her, and she suddenly realized that his hand was still covering hers, and a blush crept up her cheek. Gently she slid her hand out from under hers, and he pulled his hand back as if surprised it had still been there.

Both lapsed into silence, unsure of what to say now that they had expressed what concerned them most. The movie was shown, food came, and Usagi napped in her chair, Mamoru sneaking peeks over at her every now and then, admiring her soft beauty. He found himself wishing she would have to sit next to him again, so he could feel her head against his shoulder. No matter how many times he told himself just how silly he was being, he couldn't shake the feeling. Instead he just tried to lose himself in his book to make the time go faster.


	9. Epilogue: Still on Foreign Soil

**A/N:** It's finally here! The last chapter of this story, I'm almost sad to say, is finally posted. I've really enjoyed this story, and I'm so terribly sorry it has taken me so very long to complete it, but here it is. As I believe I hinted at before, I've decided to write a sequel. It will contain more battles (including one where Sailor Moon is captured, which I had intended for this story, but wrote out because it makes the story flow better), and of course, some Serenity/Endymion development. No promises on when it will be out - I have ideas for it, but I want to at least wrap up Acting Out before I start another project. Please let me know what you think of this chapter, and again I am very, very sorry for it taking so long. I hit a wall here, but I've climbed over it and I'm ready to tackle many more. I'm back, and I think I'm here to stay for awhile. Please review, it always helps to feed the authors at the petting zoo (as long as the signs say it's ok).

Serenity-hime

* * *

**Epilogue: Still on Foreign Soil**

It was dark, probably past midnight. She had lost track of time, and it felt like she had been running for ages. Her boots clicked softly on the rooftops and her hair streamed out behind her as she leaped gracefully from roof to roof. It probably wasn't a good idea for her to be out here on her own like this, but she couldn't sit around anymore, and she knew she wouldn't be able to sleep. There was no particular destination, and she wasn't even consciously moving her feet – they had taken over and were whisking her away all on their own.

Images flashed across her mind as she ran, memories of the past few days. They had gotten home much earlier today, and she had spent much of the time since in her room, trying to sort out her thoughts and feelings, not that it helped any. She felt just as confused as she had on the plane home. It was like she was held in some sort of suspension on the edge of a knife – she couldn't go forward or back and was just trying the best she could not to slip and cut herself in the meantime.

He hadn't contacted her. In a way she had almost expected him to show up outside her window that night when they had gotten home, dazzling her in his cape and mask, lifting her from her room and taking off with her into the night. Ok, so that was kind of unrealistic and overly-romantic but a girl could dream, right? She had still harbored a secret, furtive hope somewhere in her heart that he would have come to see her, but he didn't. Not last night, and not tonight. Sighing, she shook her head and focused harder on her flight through the city, trying not to slip on railings or rooftops.

The anxiety had been proving to be too much. Well after dark she had snuck out of her room, transformed, and took off along the rooftops. At some point it had seemed like a good idea, but now she was just tired, and felt no better about the situation. He hadn't even really talked to her as they left the plane, or in the airport. She hadn't seen him after that. She slowed down, noticing she was running out of rooftops in front of her, and that she didn't have any clue where she was. The city was quiet, offering her no answers, so she hopped down to the pavement below.

The moon was full and huge as she tilted her head back to gaze at it. Her eyes fell closed, and she stood there for a minute just letting the moonlight wash over her. With renewed energy she walked forward along the street, seeing the archway up ahead which told her she was entering the park. An odd feeling was rising inside of her, one she couldn't quite name. It gave her a shiver as she stepped through the archway, and as her feet moved her onto the soft grass, she had the strangest sense of anticipation, almost like she knew something important was about to happen. Her feet carried her onward, past the rose gardens, over the footbridge, and to the banks of the lake, where he was waiting.

He was looking out over the lake as the moonlight glittered off the still waters, his back to her. For a moment she stood there, just watching him, but again her feet carried her forwards. His cape whispered softly as he turned to meet her, as if he had known she would be there. Her feet stopped a short distance from him, and they faced each other in the dark of night with only the moon to bear witness. He broke the silence first.

"I see you couldn't sleep either." She paused. Then she rolled her eyes and pushed past him to look out at the lake herself.

"Don't think you had anything to do with it, I just had too much candy before bed." His laughter made her tremble the slightest bit, but she hid it by crossing her arms.

"What else is new? You pigging out on candy is old news." She whirled to face him, a retort on the tip of her tongue, but under his gaze it turned into a soft smile. After an increasingly uncomfortable moment of just looking at each other, Usagi spoke first, her eyes darting away.

"We need to talk, we need to sort this out." Mamoru nodded slowly, and for the first time in what felt like hours, Usagi relaxed a little.

"I agree. We didn't really work anything out before. I guess," he watched at her closely, "we need to decide where we stand. With each other." Usagi didn't answer for a long time. Finally, she released her transformation, reverting back into her civilian self. After a moment of her looking at him he released his as well and she nodded.

"This isn't about who we become when the world needs us. This is about us, about Usagi and Mamoru. As for where I stand," her blue eyes met his, deep with an intensity he hadn't known her eyes could hold. Very suddenly she stepped forward, reaching up and pulling him down for a soft, delicate kiss. Surprise quickly faded, and he wrapped his hands carefully about her waist.

The thundering of her heart was so loud that it was blocking out the sounds of the night. Never in her life would she have believed she would do something so bold, but it was as if this night someone else had taken over and was piloting the controls. She felt herself shaking, and hoped he didn't notice. When she finally pulled away, breathless, she looked up into his surprised eyes, waiting for her answer to an unspoken question. He chuckled, and that was answer enough.

"Well, I guess that answers that." A huge weight was lifted from her, and she led him to a bench, where they sat and talked for a couple hours. Eventually they walked out over the lake on the footbridge that had been erected there sometime ago. Usagi trailed her hand along the handrail, looking out at the moon, which was touching the horizon. It was late, but she didn't care. They came to the middle, and stopped. He turned to her, and she smiled up at him. He pulled her into a tight embrace, and placed a chaste kiss on her lips.

"Usagi." She looked up at him. "You know this is going to be very hard, don't you?" The moon reflected off of her bright blue eyes, which made her face seem to glow as she smiled softly at him.

"I know."

"And you know that the enemy can use this against us?"

"It's not like they haven't tried that already. Besides, I'm sure the senshi won't be very happy either." He nodded.

"Most likely they won't, but hopefully we can help them understand. After all, it's just like you said. This is about us, not the costumes we put on. I just hope you can keep Jupiter away from me in the meantime." Her musical laughter twinkled in the darkness.

"I think I can probably restrain her." Her voice grew serious. "I'm just worried about what's going to happen, what's in our immediate future for you and me."

"What do you mean?"

"The wand." He raised an eyebrow. "Oh, I forgot you were kind of dead when that happened." Which provoked an eye roll. "Well, when I was trying to save you I kind of, I don't know, reached within myself and it appeared. I told the girls that I felt like it was waiting for me, waiting for when I needed it so badly…but that's not the entire truth." Now she was pulling away so she could look up into his eyes without having to crane her neck, and he waited patiently for her to continue. "I felt like it was waiting for us, for something to happen. I don't know how to explain it, but I felt like something very close to that had to happen for me to find it. I don't know what it all means." He frowned in concentration for a moment before shrugging.

"I don't know either, but the only thing we can do is wait and see. If something is supposed to happen, I'm sure it will and there's not a lot we can do about it. We just have to keep on going." She nodded, knowing he was completely right. "We'll work this out. I don't know how, but it will work out in the end for us. I can feel it." She squirmed out of his grasp, giggling. She felt more at peace now than she had for over a week. She smiled up at him.

"You know, despite all of the strange things that have happened I'm glad I wound up sitting next to you on that plane." He laughed, nodding.

"Lucky for us you dumped a whole cup of coffee in your lap, or this week might have turned out much differently." A gasp was followed by a punch in the arm that he barely felt, and he grinned at her. Suddenly she remembered something, and a huge smile crossed her face.

"Oh! Mamoru I almost forgot! I have a present for you; I've been saving it for a few days." He smiled back.

"What is it?"

"Well, I've been saving it for just the right time. Close your eyes so it will be a surprise!" He closed his eyes, wondering what it could be. The next thing he knew, she had shoved him in the lake and was running off down the footbridge.

"That's for dumping me in the pond, punk!" Her cackles resounded through the park as he slogged to shore and chased after her.

* * *

Venus turned away, hopping to the ground from the tree she had been crouched in. The girls had all been concerned about Usagi, and they had agreed to post a watch outside her house in case anything should happen. Only half an hour after she had relieved Jupiter, Usagi had snuck out her window. It seemed they had been right in worrying about her. Venus stood in contemplation for a moment, then headed off to the temple. They would have to call a meeting tomorrow to discuss the night's events.

* * *

The next day, the four senshi sat in Rei's room in civilian form, discussing what Venus had witnessed. Rei had been outraged at Usagi's carelessness, and the other girls had been trying to calm her while they discussed Mamoru. Ami spoke up quietly.

"He hasn't done anything to us in the past, it's logical to assume he's not going to do anything harmful now. He has competed with us at times but he has never openly tried to harm any of us, and has saved Sailor Moon on many occasions. While he may have been doing this to gain our trust he has constantly remained an enigma, running off after fights so we couldn't ask him questions, thereby leading to distrust – he obviously wasn't trying to get close to us. I don't think he means any ill will at all." Rei stared openmouthed at her, usually the one so quiet and last to speak up about anything. Before she could retort, Mina held up a hand to quiet everyone.

"We know nothing about him as Tuxedo Mask. We have no idea what his objectives are, or why he's even here. Luna said he's definitely not one of us; she wasn't sent to awake him or his powers and we can't even know where they come from. Perhaps in the future he might even become a rival, or interfere with our events. We have to seek to know what we can about him, for right now he's incredibly dangerous for any of us to be around." As the girls began to murmur quietly Mina held her hand up again.

"That said, we have each known Mamoru for quite some time. Usagi has known him longer than any of us, even Rei who tried to go out with him on more than one occasion." Rei blushed and looked away, the anger not fading from her eyes. They all knew that the cause of her upset had more to it than Usagi being careless. "I have never once found him to be a bad person, no matter how much he has teased Usagi. I would think that before the trip to America any of us would have trusted him with some pretty important things, even if it was because he just seemed so dependable.

"We know that he didn't know our identities before this week, and yet he has still remained in our lives somehow. I think to turn him away now would be foolish. Surely the man behind the mask counts for more than the clothing he puts on at night. I would hope that I am not defined by the person who is Sailor Venus, just as I know you all aren't defined by your uniforms. We can't let these circumstances keep these two apart. I know that I'm willing to protect a budding love regardless of the circumstances."

In that moment, as the three others sat around Mina and listened to her speech, they all felt an almost ancient deference towards her, as if they had always listened to her word this way. Even Rei felt put in place by her, and she knew that despite her protests and her personal feelings regarding Mamoru, she was going to defend the two of them to the death if she needed to. She turned away, her raven hair obscuring most of her face.

"I guess we'll do what we can. We should still keep an eye on them."

* * *

Usagi felt elation creeping into her slowly. She had come to see Rei and the others, and maybe they had forgotten that they had _all_ agreed to meet today, but she hadn't, and she had been leaning against the wall just outside Rei's room for most of their conversation. The sounds of four girls standing up and shuffling around spurred her to make for the front door. They didn't need to know she had been there, but she felt immense relief knowing that they trusted her, and they trusted Mamoru. Maybe they had been sneaking around, but at least they had decided the way she had hoped.

* * *

They sat together in the arcade, her sipping at a milkshake and him enjoying a cup of hot chocolate in favor of coffee for once. Usagi smiled up at him, and reached across to squeeze his hand gently. She had relayed everything to him, and they had been celebrating in their own way. Suddenly a chair clattered as it was placed at the end of their booth, and Motoki sat down backwards in it, concern etched on his face. He looked first at Usagi, then at Mamoru, and then down at their clasped hands. A long silence stretched out before he finally spoke.

"Ok, so I get that stuff happened that I don't know about. I know that sometimes even a week can make a huge difference, and have a lot of turning points, especially for two young people such as yourselves." Usagi raised an eyebrow at Motoki, who was now frowning as he spoke. He looked them earnestly in the eyes. "Just answer for me this one vital question. Is there any chance – meaning even the slightest possibility, even on par with a cow falling out of the sky and landing on my store, or of a cat walking up and asking me the time of day, is there any chance that your plane went through an alternate dimension where you two get along and somehow the wrong pair of you guys came back?"

They stared at him for a moment, looked at each other, and then burst into laughter. Of course, Motoki had no idea of what had happened – they had left hating each other and returned completely chummy. Motoki was looking incredibly perplexed at their laughter.

"Ok, well I'm going to take that as a no, but can someone please explain this to me? I'm expecting it to start raining ice cream any time now." Mamoru held up his hands in surrender, and Usagi grinned at him. She reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder as he slumped down in his chair.

"Motoki, suffice it to say this has got to be the weirdest week I've ever had."


End file.
